England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations following 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, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press 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 fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
