The English opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated 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 Stokes.
However, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "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 press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
