The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored 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 anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
