The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
