The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
