England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"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
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain 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 with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
