The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate 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 anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to 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 played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
