England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
