England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears 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 knock on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
