The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored 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," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 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 recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
