The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive 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 each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain 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," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
