The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he 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 Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
