England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
