The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
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 fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
