The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "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.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
