England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "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 played several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
