England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
