England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against 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 "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
