England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
