England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored 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 a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
