The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "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.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, 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 order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added 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 discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
