The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added 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 on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
