England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive 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 amongst the players," he finished.
