England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
