The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"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," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
