Ashes: England haven’t given up yet, says Dawid Malan
England batter Dawid Malan insists they still believe they can win the Ashes but admits the tourists have “a big hill to climb” to overturn a 2-0 series deficit.
Australia will clinch the Ashes with two matches to spare – and stay on track for a whitewash – if they win the third Test, which starts in Melbourne on Boxing Day.
England failed to compete in Brisbane and Adelaide but Malan, the tourist’s top scorer so far with 188 runs, says they have not given up.
“The mood is still good, the mood is still positive. We haven’t lost the series yet,” he told the BBC.
“We’ve got a big hill to climb to get back into series, but that starts in this Test match.
“It’s up to us to put in a better performance. Everyone’s up for it, everyone wants to win, which is still a good place to be.”
Malan has reached 80 in both Ashes Tests so far but admits England need centuries if they are to match Australia, who passed 400 runs in both of their first innings.
“It’s tough to get there [to 80]. To get there and then get out has been disappointing,” he added.
“It just shows that if you don’t score hundreds here you probably don’t score that 400 that you should – that’s unless you get three or four guys scoring 80s, which very rarely happens.
“That’s not just for me, that’s for all our batters when we do get in it’s about making sure that we do get 100 on the board and get a good score.”
Australia, meanwhile, are expected to pick Mitchell Starc for the third Test despite back twinges but fellow bowler Josh Hazlewood is set to remain out with a side strain.