England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching 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 issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score 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 six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
