The Ashes: England ‘trained too much’ says Brendon McCullum as Ben Stokes questions mentality

Stokes said he would have conversations with his players and believes they can come from 2-0 behind to win for the first time in an Ashes series.

While saying he did not believe his players were weak, he said: “There is a saying that we have said a lot here – Australia is not for weak men.

“A dressing room that I am captain of is not a place for weak men either.

“We need to dig deep, I need to dig deep.”

There are 10 days until the third Test begins in Adelaide on Wednesday, 17 December (23:30 GMT, 16 December).

England’s trip to Noosa was pre-planned. They will fly to Adelaide on Saturday and train on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

“We have been here for five weeks and it’s been pretty full-on on the field, off the field, and as physical as this game is, a huge part of it is the mental side,” said Stokes, who took a break from the game for his metal health in 2021.

“I know what the game can do to you when the game is not feeling right or going well. Trust me when I say it is so important for teams, when they do get an occasion or an opportunity to be able to go away as a team – and almost put the pressures of this aside for a couple of days.

“That doesn’t mean everything disappears and we don’t speak about what is going on, because those conversations are constantly happening.”