England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia 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 message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching 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
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won 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 we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts 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 in England's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
