England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"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 some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
