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England's captain has called on his squad to channel the raw aggression shown in the India series earlier this summer and demonstrate some fight as they look to stay in the Ashes contest in Adelaide.

'No Country for Weak Men'

After falling 2-0 behind in the opening matches, the skipper stated playing in Australia being "a place that exposes weakness" and stressed the identical standard existed within the team environment under his stewardship. As they prepare for the next match beginning on Wednesday, that remark was seemingly carefully chosen.

"What needed to be said is out there," stated Stokes, in response to questions about whether that point on toughness had been revisited this past week. "Everyone is very switched on for what needs to be done this week."

Channeling the Lord's Spirit

Instead, after allowing the comment to resonate with his squad during their break between Tests, the captain has subsequently reinforced it within the group. This featured references to the heated controversy with the Indian team at Lord's Cricket Ground back in the summer, which triggered a spate of running verbals and, finally, a narrow win by 22 runs.

"It involves battling in any scenario that you face," he elaborated. "Assessing the context and what you feel is required. And yes, just confront the opponent every single time and exhibit that toughness. That's what I mean by spirit."

"The Lord's incident was discussed," Stokes continued. "That is exactly what I'm referring to – a instance where we united in that attitude. We witnessed the way that team performed on that last day. We had to be flawless to win that game and we succeeded. Attitude and mentality towards that situation is what secured us the optimal opportunity of winning."

One Change to the Line-up

England have enacted a single alteration to their playing XI this week. The pace bowler Tongue has replaced fellow seamer Atkinson – injecting fresh legs into the pace attack – while off-spinner Bashir has once more been omitted in favour of Will Jacks, the all-rounder, despite Stokes labelling the young spinner as his preferred slow bowler a couple of weeks back.

Baptism of Fire

Among the squad members the English team have used in the current campaign, a mere five had played in Australia earlier. Asked if the unrelenting pressure of the cricket – including two raucous environments in the first two venues – was the explanation for this apparent shortfall in aggression from his side, Stokes replied: "To be honest, I believe that's a factor."

Stokes went on: "I recall my initial series here. You attempt to picture what the atmosphere is and you listen to stories. But when it does come around it’s like ‘astonishing’. My sense is all the players have had that baptism and likely in its most extreme form, so we collectively understand what awaits us."

Deflated Supporters but a Determined Squad

Asked if he had a statement for fans likely deflated by the team's showings, Stokes replied: "That reaction is totally justified. But there are absolutely no despair in any way in this team right now."

"Naturally, there was following the initial defeats because that’s what the game does to you. But at this present moment there’s not a shred of that feeling with me and none of that with the team. Should that be our mindset, what purpose would it serve in turning up?"

"So hopefully in Adelaide, after everything that’s been said, there’ll be a new vibe and a different look. The situation demands people to stand up."