England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made 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 anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
