England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after the opener scored 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 everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
