England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, 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," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
