The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
