England opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among 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 made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
