England opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "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 a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes 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 series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
