The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley made 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 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 suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "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 some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
