The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by 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 series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "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 from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
