England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
