England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following the opener made a knock of 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 anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
