England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
