England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took 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 "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
