England opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, 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 some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
