England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"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," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
