England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
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 fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "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 chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
