The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"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 didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
