England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after 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 away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
