England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
