The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "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.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
