The Ashes: Ben Stokes’ England face do-or-die third Test against Australia in Adelaide
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Stokes urges England to “show a bit of dog” in Adelaide clash
When England set off to Australia last month to contest the Ashes, they would have known full well that it was going to take something quite special to reclaim the coveted urn in this part of the world, and now they are going to need a proper miracle.
Down 2-0 after collapsing to eight-wicket defeats in Perth and Brisbane and confirming our cricket predictions, Ben Stokes and co have to find a way to claim a victory this week, or they will become the fourth English squad in succession to crash out after three Ashes Tests.
However, history is against the Poms here in Adelaide. Indeed, in the last 150 years, only once has a team ever managed to pull off an Ashes series victory from a 2-0 deficit, and that was Australia under the leadership of the legendary Don Bradman back in 1936-37.
Despite the betting odds and being completely outplayed with both bat and ball so far in this series, Stokes has not thrown in the towel just yet. The English skipper affirmed that he felt that his side can replicate their performance in 2023, when they levelled the series at 2-2 from a 2-0 deficit. He said:
“We're able to draw on experience, being in the situation before. Everyone knows what needs to happen in the coming week and after that as well. So if anything, it actually makes everything more simple, a little bit more clear for us.”
Stokes went on to add that his team need to “show a bit of dog” when they step out at what is expected to be a scorching Adelaide this week, and pointed to their third Test against India at Lord’s in July as a source of inspiration.
Still, despite the Poms’ skipper’s fighting spirit, many have already written off the visitors due to their performances in this series and their record Down Under. England have lost their last three series in Australia, 5-0, 4-0, and 4-0, respectively.
Cummins, Lyon return, Khwaja left out for Adelaide Test
As if the task at hand was not difficult enough for England, their opponents are set to be bolstered for the Adelaide Test, with Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon both expected to return to the starting lineup for what could be the series-defining clash.
Skipper Cummins has been out of action since sustaining a back injury in July, while spinner Lyon has been reinstated to the team after being left out for the day-night second Test, in which the Aussies opted for a pace-heavy bowling attack.
Notably, the Baggy Greens have decided against recalling Usman Khawaja despite the opener declaring himself fully fit after sitting out the Brisbane Test due to a back issue. Now at 39 years of age, Khwaja’s omission has raised questions around whether he has played his last Test for the nation.
As for England, the most notable exclusion this week is Shoaib Bashir, a move that has raised eyebrows given his importance to the team over the past couple of years and with the Adelaide pitch expected to provide plenty of assistance to spin bowlers.
Instead, Brendan McCullum has decided to retain the services of Will Jacks, who featured for the team for the first time in three years in Brisbane, while a more unsurprising call sees Josh Tongue brought back in to replace fellow paceman Gus Atkinson.
