England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate 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 media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
