The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
