England opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes series against 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 let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, he said his players 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, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware 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. This is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
