The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"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.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
