England opener 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 those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was 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'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.