England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after 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. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
