England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
