The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score 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 Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
