England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following 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 everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
