The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley made 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 media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven 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 will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
