England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win 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 like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
