The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
