England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with 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 successive away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"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 will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to 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 if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
