England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes 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," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable 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 Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
