England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
