The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, 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.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
