England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "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 media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
