England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
