England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener made 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 anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
