England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series 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 completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
