The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
