The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
