England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain 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 holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
