The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win 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 with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
