England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
