England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches 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 Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
