England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – 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 to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
