England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
