England opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought 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 only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
