The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate 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," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes 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 Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
