England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
