England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good 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 the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
