England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
