The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate 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 press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is 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 like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus 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 order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
