England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
