England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes about 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 earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
