England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, 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," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
