England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "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," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
