The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "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 press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
