The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won 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 we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
