England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following the opener made 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. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're 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 tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
