England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
