England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
