The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort 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 effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
