England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win 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 modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
