England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 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 everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
