The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes against Australia 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 "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
