The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK 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 modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks 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 poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised 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," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
