The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
