England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach 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 to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
