The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "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," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
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 modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
