The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley made 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 everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
