England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
