England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of 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've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
