England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate 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 some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win 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 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
