England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he said 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, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
