The English opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians 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've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"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
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 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 recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
