England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following the opener scored 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 press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record 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 England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
