England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope 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," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
