The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, 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," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
