England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
