England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, 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 "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
