England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley made 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. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after 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 destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
