England opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
