England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
