England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England 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 third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
