England opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 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 anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
