England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
