England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
