The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We 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" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears 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 knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," 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 chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
