England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
