The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
