England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
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 remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
