Stokes urges side to show 'bit of dog' in crucial Test

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.

- RORY DOLLARD

The tourists have made just one change to their playing XI for the third Test tomorrow, 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.

“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.