England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – 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 notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
