The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, 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," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
