England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored 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.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
