The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes 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 the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
