England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 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 triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
