England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
