England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia 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 allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches 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 Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
