England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
