The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
