The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
