England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions 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 plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
