The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley made 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. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has 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."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
