England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "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," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, 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 an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
