England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for 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 hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
