The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
