England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
