The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
