England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener scored 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 everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
