England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
