The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
