England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted 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."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "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 with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
