England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
