England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after the opener 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. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"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 an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
