The English opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "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 some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – 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 England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
