England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis 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 Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
