The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain 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 Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
