England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
