England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
