The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth 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 some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know 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 from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
