England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "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 press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
