England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here 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 side. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
