England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
