England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "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 noise externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
