England opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged 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 coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming 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 place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
