England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message 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 the England leader.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 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 Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
