England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain 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 the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
