England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"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 going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
