England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
