England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following the opener scored 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 press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position 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.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
