England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
