England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
