England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth 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," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
