The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
