England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed 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 instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
