The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth 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 everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
