The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "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 press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
