The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
