England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
