England opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series 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, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
