England opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said 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 going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
