The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
