England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following 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 a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry 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 Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
