The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate 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 everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will 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 hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning 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 played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
