The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
