The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley made 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 everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
