England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener made a knock of 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. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
