The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
