England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
