The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, 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 a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap 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 effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win 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," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
