England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted 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," remarked Stokes.
However, after the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one 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 being scrutinised originates with "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 productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
