The English opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 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 anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won 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 now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
