England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 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 straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
