The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"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 Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain 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," Crawley added.
"It's 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."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
