England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes 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 needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, 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 press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here 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 with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
