England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "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."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, 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 an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
