England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following the opener 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 anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "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'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
