England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests 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 respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
