England opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten 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 third matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
