England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
