The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – after 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 Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel 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 difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
