England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 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 anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
