England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"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 a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"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 some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
