England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
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 so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel 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. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
