England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
