The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews 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 Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 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. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
