England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth 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 press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
