England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score 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 six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
