England urged to 'show a bit of dog'

BEN Stokes has challenged his England team to bare their teeth and prove they have “a bit of dog” in them as their Ashes campaign reaches must-win territory in Adelaide.

- By RORY DOLLARD

England's Ben Stokes bowls during a nets session at the Adelaide Oval yesterday

The tourists have made just one change to their playing XI for the third Test, Josh Tongue recalled in place of fellow seamer Gus Atkinson, but Stokes has made it plain he wants to see a different side to his players.

In the aftermath of their eight-wicket defeat in Brisbane, captain Stokes pointedly stated that his dressing room was “no place for weak men”.

After a mid-series beach break in Noosa he has left the group in no doubt about what that meant, revealing the message had been drilled home one-on-one and as a wider squad - a rarity in a regime that has all but abandoned the formal team meeting.

Asked if those discussions had been ‘raw, Stokes said: “Definitely. We don’t do getting into rooms and have big things up on the screen. We have proper meaningful conversations.