Dawid Malan insisted the time for talking is over and England must now prove themselves in Melbourne after a dismal start to the Ashes.
England have been outclassed in the opening two Tests, suffering a 275-run defeat in Adelaide after a nine-wicket beating in Brisbane.
The tourists are without a win in 12 Tests in Australia – their joint-longest such run Down Under (also 12 between January 1937 to February 1951).
The third Test starts on Boxing Day at the MCG, with bowler Mark Wood revealing England have held "brutally honest" meetings before Saturday after disappointment last week.
Captain Joe Root also provided a scathing post-match summary of his bowlers repeating mistakes from four years ago and needing to be braver with their lengths, and batsman Malan knows it is now time for England to right their wrongs as they look to keep their hopes of regaining the urn alive.
"We've done a lot of talking," Malan told reporters. "When you lose there'll always be reports that people are at each other. There definitely isn't.
"One of the things we've been doing this series is a lot of chat amongst the players and encouraging players to challenge each other on a lot of things.
"We've had good discussions with the coaching staff and without the coaching staff. It's vitally important that we as players take responsibility.
"Ultimately we are the ones who walk onto the field. We get all the preparation and all the knowledge we need, it's up to us to put it in place. We haven't done that well enough.
"When we have those honest chats as players we feel we learn a lot more. Now it's about not talking any more, it's about putting it into play."
Malan has been one of England's standout performers so far, scoring 188 runs at an average of 47, with Root (175 at an average of 43.75) in close company.
However, England's next-best batter is all-rounder Chris Woakes (105), with the trio the only players to accumulate more than 100 runs from the first two Tests.
"Everyone is up for the challenge, everyone is really keen to face up to Australia," Malan added.
"We do it in white-ball cricket, we take them on, so hopefully we can get that mindset and not go into our shells and just try to survive, take the game to them.
"We are almost learning in Test matches because we haven't had that preparation. A lot of the guys haven't played in Australia so are trying to find ways of facing bowlers they haven't faced before but also to get used to bounce here.
"I know there's a lead-up to dismissals and how bowlers set you up, but a lot of our dismissals were probably soft in the sense that we could have left them. You still have to score, but it's about making the right choices under pressure, myself included.
"If you look at the way they have batted, the ones who have done really well, they've left really well so it's a good learning curve for us. Hopefully it's not too late."
Nottingham Forest’s response to VAR controversy ‘too emotional’ – Stuart Broad
Former England bowler Stuart Broad has criticised Nottingham Forest’s response to the VAR controversy at Sunday’s Premier League match against Everton as “slightly too emotional”.
Broad, the second-highest England Test wicket-taker, was made a CBE for services to cricket during a ceremony at Windsor Castle on Tuesday, and is a long-time fan of the football club.
Following Forest’s 2-0 loss at Everton, the club risked Football Association and Premier League sanction over their extraordinary response to three rejected penalty appeals.
In a statement on Sunday, the club said there had been “three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept”, adding: “We warned the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game, but they didn’t change him.”
On Tuesday, it was announced that the club would be given the opportunity to privately hear the VAR audio connected to the three penalty claims.
When asked about his thoughts on the VAR incident, Broad said: “Obviously, there’s been some natural frustration from everyone at Nottingham Forest: owners, players, manager fans, supporters, my friendship group are frustrated.
“I think it’s not just from the weekend, I think the frustration is built over the season, to be honest, from the decisions that the club have had.
“I think the statement straight after the game was probably quite emotional and maybe slightly misaligned with how the club would normally operate.”
Referring to the club’s statement on X, formerly Twitter, in which they claimed VAR Stuart Attwell “was a Luton fan”, Broad said: “Personally, I think that’s got nothing to do with the decision-making. I think it was just poor decision-making.
He continued: “I don’t mind the club showing emotion and passion because ultimately, that’s what sport’s about, but I think some of the words were slightly too emotional.”
Broad, 37, announced he was retiring from cricket during the fifth Ashes Test last summer and bowed out in spectacular fashion.
He hit a six off his final ball and took the final wicket as England won the match to level the series, although Australia retained the urn.
He came second in the public vote for the BBC’s 2023 Sports Personality of the Year in December and has been focusing on fatherhood and television punditry.
After the ceremony he said retirement had been “scary” but that he wanted to continue to “stay connected” to the sport.
When asked what was next, Broad said: “I want to stay in the game.
“It’s a great hobby of mine, it’s probably something I know the most about in the world, in my world, so I want to be able to share that feedback, whether that’s coaching, whether that’s punditry and commentary that I enjoy.
“But stay connected to the game, you know, I love it.”
Andrew Flintoff’s son makes century for Lancashire second XI
Andrew Flintoff’s 16-year-old son, Rocky, has scored his maiden century for Lancashire’s second XI.
The teenager conjured up memories of his father’s flamboyant hitting as he peeled off 116 in 165 balls against Warwickshire’s second string, hitting 11 fours and three sixes at Edgbaston.
On the same ground where ‘Freddie’ Flintoff struck 167 – his best Test score – against the West Indies in 2004, Rocky made light of his rookie status with a series of punishing blows into the leg side.
Batting for long periods with Saqib Mahmood and sharing a stand of 39 with his 18-year-old brother Corey, the youngster put in an eye-catching display against an attack featuring highly-rated seamer Che Simmons and former England Lions spinner Jake Lintott.
Rocky Flintoff only made his second XI debut earlier this month, a matter of days after turning 16, and hit a half-century against Durham last week.
While his sons take their first steps in the game, Flintoff senior is stepping up his return to the sport and is set to travel to the T20 World Cup in June as part of England’s backroom team.
Flintoff will also act as head coach of Northern Superchargers this summer, furthering his reintegration into the cricketing fold following the major car crash he suffered while filming Top Gear in late 2022.
Matthews stars with 141 and 2-26 as West Indies Women complete 3-0 ODI series sweep over Pakistan in Karachi
Captain Hayley Matthews once again played a starring role to help the West Indies Women complete a 3-0 One-Day International (ODI) series sweep over hosts Pakistan on Tuesday.
The West Indies made an imposing 278-6 off their 50 overs after winning the toss and batting first at the Karachi National Stadium.
Captain Hayley Matthews continued her magnificent form shown throughout the series with 141 off 149 balls including 19 fours while Stafanie Taylor and Shemaine Campbelle both made meaningful contributions with 47 and 38, respectively.
Matthews’ knock means she ends the three-match series with an impressive 325 runs.
Nashra Sandhu took 3-54 to lead the bowling for the hosts while Fatima Sana took 2-67 in support.
An excellent all-round bowling effort then allowed the West Indians to restrict Pakistan to 190 with three overs and one ball remaining.
Muneeba Ali and Aliya Riaz tried their best for the hosts with 38 and 36, respectively.
The West Indian bowling was led by Hayley Matthews, Aliyah Alleyne and Stafanie Taylor who took two wickets each.
Matthews was named player of the series with 325 runs and six wickets.
The teams will now turn their attention to the five-match T20 series which begins on Friday.
Full scores: West Indies Women 278-6 off 50 overs (Hayley Matthews 141, Stafanie Taylor 47, Shemaine Campbelle 38, Nashra Sandhu 3-54, Fatima Sana 2-67)
Pakistan Women 190 off 47.5 overs (Muneeba Ali 38, Aliya Riaz 36, Aaliyah Alleyne 2-10, Hayley Matthews 2-26, Stafanie Taylor 2-29).
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