England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
