The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 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. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, 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 Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
