England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after the opener 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 some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
