England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," 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 coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
