England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures 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.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
