"England got a bit of a kick up the bum after the pink-ball Test defeat" - Mark Wood
England paceman Mark Wood revealed that captain Joe Root had a candid chat with the entire squad following the heavy defeat in Adelaide. Wood said they talked about what differently England could do in Melbourne to turn their fortunes around.
England need a miraculous turnaround to win the remaining three Tests to regain the Ashes urn. Most importantly, the visitors' batting lineup must step up and accumulate imposing first-innings totals to give their bowlers a chance.
Mark Wood, who didn't play the pink-ball Test in Adelaide, said Ben Stokes and Joe Root urged England to pull up their socks. The Durham paceman revealed that the visitors now mean business and denied any conflict between the captain and bowlers.
Wood stated, as quoted by BBC Sport:
"Stokesy and Joe Root spoke to the group about… basically a bit of a kick up the bum saying, 'This isn't good enough.' We've talked in depth about how things can get better. Not just words or cliched words, we actually set out what we're going to do in Melbourne practice-wise, what we're going to do differently. I don't think there's any friction between the bowlers and the captain."
A brave fight on the final day but Australia win the second Test to take a 2-0 series lead.
Scorecard: ms.spr.ly/6017Zumm9
#Ashes | 🇦🇺 #AUSvENG 🏴 https://t.co/U9VH9Z1MLS
England's selections in both the Tests have drawn criticism. They left out James Anderson and Stuart Broad at the Gabba, where the duo could have made the difference. In contrast, they went with an all-seam attack in Adelaide, which is known for aiding spin-bowling.
"We've got facets of the game that need major work" - Mark Wood
Wood admitted that England haven't played to their potential in the ongoing series and need to take their opportunities to beat Australia. The 32-year-old feels the visitors need to work hard to match the hosts in Melbourne and added:
"We've got to believe we can turn this around. We haven't shown our best stuff yet. We know that Australia have played really well. If we can match them, then we believe we can win Test matches here. We've just got to up our game in all three areas."
He continued:
"At the minute, Australia have scored 400 twice, we've had batting collapses and we've dropped catches. We've got facets of the game that need major work."
The last time the two sides met in Melbourne, the match resulted in a high-scoring draw. Fans will hope for a wicket that produces a result and lends a better balance between bat and ball this time around.