England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
