England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
