England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
