England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
