England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener made 85 on the fourth 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," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
