Captain Ben Stokes has demanded England “show a bit of dog” in the must-win third Ashes Test against Australia on Wednesday after “raw” conversations following heavy defeats in Perth and Brisbane.
The tourists have crashed to consecutive eight-wicket losses and must snap a 17-match winless streak in Australia at Adelaide Oval to keep the five-match series alive.
They have made one change with Josh Tongue replacing fellow quick Gus Atkinson, while off-spinning all-rounder Will Jacks kept his place ahead of Shoaib Bashir.
Stokes said after the Gabba defeat that Australia was “no place for weak men” and admitted to hard dressing-room discussions in the aftermath.
“What’s been said has been said,” Stokes told reporters.
“I’ve done all the talking over the last two days that I needed to. All that stuff’s done now, so it’s about what gets seen out on the field in Adelaide this week.”
Stokes was called “the most competitive person I’ve ever come across” by former England captain Alastair Cook last week and the 34-year-old all-rounder wants to see more fight from his team.
“It’s just about trying to fight in every situation that you find yourself in, understanding the situation and what you feel is required for your team,” said Stokes.
“Just look at your opposition every single time and show a bit of dog. That’s fight to me. You’re giving yourself the best possible chance if you’ve got a bit of dog in you.”
Asked how the team had responded to his demands, Stokes replied: “It goes one or two ways, and the response that the whole group has shown as a collective has been exactly what I wanted.
“And we’re going into this week with full understanding of what we need to do. I think the team is very, very understanding of some of the bits that I’ve raised in the dressing room.” Stokes cited England’s battling third Test win against India at Lord’s in July as an example of the grit he wanted to see, the hosts having won by 22 runs deep into day five after a time-wasting row.
“That’s exactly what I’m on about,” he said. “We were probably in a situation where we would have to be absolutely perfect to win that game and we were.
“The attitude and the mentality towards that specific situation is what gave us the best chance of winning that game.”
Since arriving in Australia, England have been under intense media scrutiny and faced hostile crowds at Perth and Brisbane.
Just five of the players used so far had previously played an Ashes series in Australia and Stokes acknowledged it had been confronting for the newcomers.
“Honestly, I think so,” he said. “Now I feel everyone has experienced that and probably at its highest level, so we all know what it’s going to be like. “So for the next three games there isn’t going to be any of that ‘I didn’t expect this’ or ‘it’s the first time I’ve had this’.”