England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors 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.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate 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 innings on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
