The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
