England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored 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. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
