The English opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"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 several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
