The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
