England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
