The English opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, after the opener 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 anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
