The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to 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" comment subsequent to his side 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 the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "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 Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate 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 Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
