The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
