England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
