The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to 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 discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
