England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
