England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "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 media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage 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 loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
