England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
