The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored 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," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"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 talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
