The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after the opener scored 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. 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 fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket 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 Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
