The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, after the opener made 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. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts 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 remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
