England opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate 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 productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
