The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, 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 late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
