England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "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 press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
