England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
