England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
