England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
