England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to 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 since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
