The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
