England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, after the opener scored 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. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach 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 have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
