England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win 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," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
