The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "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.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
