England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"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 some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
