England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
