England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"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 an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
