England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty 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 recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
