The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let 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 Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
