England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners 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 appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
