"You’ve got to show some toughness about the way you go about things" - Graham Thorpe warns England batters

England's stand-in coach ahead of the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney, Graham Thorpe urged the batters to show some grit in the remaining matches. Thorpe said the batting unit could use this downfall to trigger an upward curve in their careers.

England's batting department have hardly impressed against Australia's relentless bowling attack, collapsing in six innings thus far. Bar Joe Root, no other England batter has averaged more than 40 in the series. Moreover, the visitors have yet to reach 300 in any of their innings.

Graham Thorpe admits Australia's bowling attack has been excellent and are proving too good for the opposition. However, the 52-year-old wants the batters to train hard and smart to ace the challenge in the remaining two Tests. Thorpe stated, as quoted by inews.co.uk:

"The reality for some of these guys is the Australian bowling attack is in a very good place. With some players, it’s a wake-up call and could actually kickstart their careers because they’ve started training a very, very different way."

Thorpe added:

"They actually really start to train smart, they don’t waste time fluffing, hitting half volleys. You’ve got to show some toughness about the way you go about things as well and also know how to throw punches back at the right time."

Graham Thorpe will take over for Chris Silverwood, who will have to complete a ten-day isolation period after one of his family members tested positive for COVID-19. The prevailing Ashes series has been marred by the COVID-19 virus, with Australia's Travis Head among the first amongst players to get infected.

"Rory Burns needs to do the simple things better" - Graham Thorpe

Graham Thorpe and Rory Burns. (Credits: Getty)

Thorpe addressed opener Rory Burns' struggles, saying he must do the simple things better. The Surrey-born former cricketer thinks Burns' average of 30 must increase and have had discussions about it. Thorpe said:

"I said, ‘You’ve played 30 Test matches and you average 30, so we want you to be better than that as a player.' We’ve had discussions with him – does he need a major overhaul of his technique or just to tinker with things? He needs to do the simple things better so can he calm things down with his movements and everything. We’ve been talking him through that."

Burns faced the axe in the third Ashes Test at the MCG as England chose Zak Crawley to partner Haseeb Hameed at the top. However, the southpaw could return in Sydney in the place of Hameed, who is yet to make a compelling score in three games.