England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series 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 the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
