England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
