England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
