The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored 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 media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has 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."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score 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 recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
