England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
