Adelaide, Dec 15 (IANS) England captain Ben Stokes has called on his side to show ‘a bit of dog’ in the must-win third Ashes Test against Australia, starting at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday. The clash in Adelaide marks a return for Stokes to the venue where he made his Test debut 12 years ago, adding further weight to the occasion as England look to mount a fightback.

England are 2-0 behind in the five-match series and must snap a 17-match winless run in Australia to keep alive hopes of regaining the urn.

“Definitely. We don’t do getting into rooms and have big things up on the screen. We have proper, meaningful conversations. What’s been said has been said. 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.

“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. 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,” Stokes told reporters on Monday.

Stokes said the England squad held ‘meaningful conversations’ in the lead-up to Adelaide and pointed to the third Test against India at Lord’s in July as inspiration. On that occasion, England prevailed by 22 runs in a dramatic finish at the home of cricket.

“That (Lord’s) is exactly what I’m on about. That was a moment where we all did that, we all noticed, and we all identified that moment. And you’ve seen the way that team came out on that day. We were probably in a situation where we would have to be absolutely perfect to win that game, and we were.

“On the back of attitude, mentality towards that specific situation is what gave us the best chance of winning that game. That was spoken about, that India game, for the rest of this series. I’ve done all the talking over the last two days that I needed to have done.

“All that stuff’s done now, so it’s about what gets seen out on the field in Adelaide this week. Everyone’s very switched on about what needs to be done this week. Yeah, a few more expectations, I think, around the group, but everyone responded incredibly well to it. Because what other option do we have?” he elaborated.

Stokes also addressed the omission of Shoaib Bashir from England’s playing eleven for the Adelaide game, as all-rounder Will Jacks retained his place, while Josh Tongue came in for fellow seamer Gus Atkinson.

“I wouldn’t say it’s got anything to do with Bash whatsoever. The main thing is we’re 2-0 down. We need to win the next three. We feel having Jacksy down at number eight obviously strengthens our batting a little bit deeper if we need to go there. And he’s more than capable enough to handle that role with the ball when we need to call upon it.”

–IANS

nr/bsk/