England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 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. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
