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".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
But, 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. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
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 more swiftly. Australia 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 we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
