England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate 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 a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
