England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "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 media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," 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'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
