England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
