The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
