England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
