The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
