England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
