England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake 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 hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
