The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "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 some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware 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 from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
