England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
