The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "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 with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised 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 productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
