England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
