England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 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 press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
