England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
