The English opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after Crawley made 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," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "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 On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
