England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
