England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. 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."
Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
