The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "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 media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
