England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
