The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"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
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – 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 good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
