England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following 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 anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
