England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia 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 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"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 produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
