England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
