The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "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 a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope 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 Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
