The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
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 playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
