England 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 delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated 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 the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said 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 with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
