England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. 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 on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring 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 likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
