The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words 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 England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
