England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
