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 delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, 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 required," said the England leader.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 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. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances 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 will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
