England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
