England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
