The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
