England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored 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 anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across 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 featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
