England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like 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 triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
