The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, 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.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
