England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
