England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa 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 effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring 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 doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
