The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
