The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
