England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday 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 Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
