England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "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 media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 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 outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
