England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
