The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "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," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
