The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
