The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
