The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England 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 the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
