The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner 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.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts 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 was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
