The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
