England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
