England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 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 anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven 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 outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
