The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "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 a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "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'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
