England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, 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 some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
