England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
