England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 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, Crawley insisted 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 Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
