England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting 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 England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
