England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed 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 now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
