The English opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, 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 media 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 holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
