The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third 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 in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
