The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
