England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener made 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 anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations 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 stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
