England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener'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 Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
