England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
