The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "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."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
