England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts 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 facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
