England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
