The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus 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, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 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 media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
