England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
