England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" 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 the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, 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 media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "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 to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
