England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
