England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
