The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes 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.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "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 press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
