England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
