England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "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," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
