England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment 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.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate 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 anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
