England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
