The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
