The English opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
