The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "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 media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
