The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team'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 eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
