The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
