England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
