England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, 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 press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
