England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, 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 a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 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 straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future 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 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
