England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"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," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning 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. It is talk externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
