The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let 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 the opener scored a knock of 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. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
