England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "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 media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
