England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
