The English opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, 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 a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
