England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
