England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
