England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
