England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
