The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place 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 in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings 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 "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good 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 amongst the players," he finished.
