The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
