England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
