The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
