England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
