England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, 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 a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
