The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"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 England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 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 England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 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 lower average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
