England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
