The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, 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," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said 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," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
