The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, 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," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
