The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
