The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England 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 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
