England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
