England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "raw" talks 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 Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
