England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
