England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
