The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"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. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
