England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne 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.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
