England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
