The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored 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
The captain made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
