England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
