The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team 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, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
