England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, 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 a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination 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 tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
