England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted 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 the England leader.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "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 media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
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 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
