England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
