The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "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 some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation after 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 third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
