England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
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 anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 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 returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
