England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
