The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England 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.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
