England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
