England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, after 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 a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
