The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
