England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third 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've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
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 loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake 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 inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
