England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, 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," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings 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 fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
