The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from captain Stokes regarding 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 against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away 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 respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate 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 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
