England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 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.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"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 noise externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
