England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
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 squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
