The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he said his players 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, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike 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.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
