The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
