England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
