England opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth 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 a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
