The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, 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. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
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 stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong 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 just 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
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 won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
