The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
