The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win 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. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
