The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing 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 destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
