England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous 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. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
