The English opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
