England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
