England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following the opener made 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 everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
