England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within 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 a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as 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 questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
