The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking 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 didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
