The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "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 will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
