The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia 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.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
