England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "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 a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
