England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're 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. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
