The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, following the opener 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 anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
