The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after 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 outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one 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 poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
