England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, after the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears 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, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
