England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, 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.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
