England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
