England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
