The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
