'We need fight,' admits England coach as he backs Jos Buttler to bounce back
- Michael Graham
- 16 December 2021
England facing Ashes battle again after another poor showing.
Assistant coach Graham Thorpe admitted that Jos Buttler's dropped catches had proven costly to England, but he backed the wicketkeeper to put it behind him.
England had a frustrating opening day of the second Ashes Test in Adalaide, toiling in the field as Australia reached 221 for two at the close of play.
Things could have been much better for the tourists though had they taken their chances, with the usually reliable Buttler spurning two gilt-edged chances behind the stumps.
Thorpe, though, was reluctant to criticise Buttler, and instead promised the England team and staff would rally around him.
He told Test Match Special: "Jos will have to clear his mind and go again. No one means to drop catches, but that's the game and sometimes it can happen to you. We need to get around him and support him."
Thorpe added: "We have to keep going at it. Luck can turn. I thought we bowled well - you can look at occasionally going fuller, but there wasn't much margin for error on that pitch.
"Australia are in a good position. It's up to us to take early wickets with the new ball, that will be crucial.
"We have to show some fight and heart."
England fielded an all-seam attack that lacked variety, and it was unable to make much of a dent in the Australian top order.
"We stuck at it well, kept the economy rate down, but we would have liked more wickets," Thorpe admitted.
"David Warner (95) and Marnus Labuschagne (95no) played very well and made it very hard for us - every time we went up to the bat, we got punched down the ground.
"Ben Stokes tried something different but there are only a few bowlers in the world who can do that type of bowling. It unsettled them for a period."
