The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss 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 required," said Stokes.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
