England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, 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 media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
