The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
