England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
