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".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley scored 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," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
