England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
