England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "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 Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
