England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
