The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener scored 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. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
