England opening batter 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 made this message in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England fell 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 destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
