The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
