The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate 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 Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
