The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he 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 series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "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'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
