The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"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.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
