England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, 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 a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "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 On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
