England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"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 Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's 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 and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
