England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
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 since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
