The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst 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 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
