The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," 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'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
