England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
