England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure 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 straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
