England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth 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 anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 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 returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
