England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
