The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted 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," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
