The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
