The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, following the opener scored 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 everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed 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 eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
