England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, 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 some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
