The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements 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 match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. 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 on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing 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 urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
