England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored 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. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is 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 Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough 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 performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
