England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
