The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
