England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
