The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon 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 just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
