England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said 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," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
