The English opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
