England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
