The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley made 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. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to 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 between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll 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 touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
