England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth 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," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
