England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
