England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
