England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in multiple interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "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 some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
