England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
But, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion 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," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
