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 those words in several interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" 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 Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake 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 tough coming here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
