England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 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 a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed 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 modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
