England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
