England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following 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. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the 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. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
