England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
