England stand on the precipice of surrendering the Ashes after a brutal fourth day at Adelaide Oval left them requiring 228 runs with just four wickets in hand.
Australia moved within touching distance of a 3-0 whitewash.
They need only to claim those final wickets on Sunday to retain the urn they have held since 2017-18.
The tourists closed on 207 for six, chasing what would be a world-record fourth-innings target of 435.
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Should Australia complete victory, England will have matched their quickest Ashes capitulation since 1921, with the series decided after merely 11 days of cricket across three matches.
Nathan Lyon proved the destroyer of English ambitions.
He claimed three wickets for just 17 runs across six devastating overs as the shadows lengthened over Adelaide.
The veteran off-spinner first bowled Harry Brook for 30 when the batsman attempted a reverse sweep but misjudged the length, the ball spinning back sharply to clip leg stump.
England stands on the precipice of surrendering the Ashes after a brutal fourth day at Adelaide Oval
|REUTERS
Ben Stokes lasted only five runs before Lyon produced a beauty that pitched on leg, ripped away and crashed into the top of off stump.
Crawley's dismissal completed the collapse, the opener lured forward by Lyon's flight before Alex Carey completed a clinical stumping.
Crawley's innings of 85 from 151 deliveries represented a marked departure from his usual attacking approach, offering England's most substantial resistance of the match.
His partnership of 78 with Joe Root briefly rekindled hope before Pat Cummins intervened, dismissing Root for 39 when the batsman edged behind attempting to play at a delivery he ought to have left.
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Australia moved within touching distance of a 3-0 whitewash
|REUTERS
It marked the 13th time Cummins has claimed Root's wicket in Test cricket.
Earlier, Cummins had struck with his second delivery of England's chase, Ben Duckett poking to slip for four to continue a wretched series yielding just 97 runs.
Ollie Pope fell for 17, caught brilliantly one-handed by Marnus Labuschagne diving to his left.
Jamie Smith, unbeaten on 11, and Will Jacks, on two, managed to see out the remaining overs and push the contest into a fifth day.
Australia need only to claim those final wickets on Sunday to retain the urn they have held since 2017-18
|REUTERS
Their survival denied Australia the distinction of wrapping up the series in just 10 days, which would have bettered the 11 days Nasser Hussain's side endured in 2002-03.
Crawley acknowledged afterwards: "Obviously very disappointing. Uphill battle from here.
"We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
Some rain is forecast for Sunday in Adelaide, though even a washout would suffice for Australia, who need only a draw to secure the urn.
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