England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after the opener 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 everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches 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 urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured 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" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
