The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener made a knock of 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 everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears 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 day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
