England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
