The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win 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 like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
