England opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches 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 Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne 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 Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
