England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure 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, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
