The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 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 anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While 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 fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
