The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
In 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 featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
