England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following the opener made a knock of 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 press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
