The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
