England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"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.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
