Australia may have regained the Ashes in Perth after taking an unassailable 3-0, but Craig Overton is adamant England will fight until the end to avoid a whitewash.
MORE: BBL 07 commentary much preferred to Channel 9 Ashes team |
Steve Smith's side recorded an innings and 41-run victory at the WACA on Monday to get their hands back on the urn, Australia dismissing the tourists for 218 to spark jubilant scenes.
With England being outplayed across the opening three Tests, many have suggested a 5-0 home victory is on the cards with victories in Melbourne and Sydney.
However, Overton insists England are determined to finish the series with some of their pride restored even if they have underperformed in Australia so far.
"We have not been good enough for long enough in this series and have let chances slip, and because of that we have lost the Ashes before Christmas," he wrote in The Times.
"We are gutted but don't for a second think that there will be divisions in the camp or that we see the series as over.
"We will be throwing everything we have at the Melbourne and Sydney Tests -- we are desperate to make a mark on the series, even if it's too late to win.
"We will fight until the very last to do so."
Australia take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the #Ashes.
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 18, 2017
Scorecard: https://t.co/hLNmBf3pEK pic.twitter.com/RUa4JBdvOQ
Whether Overton will be fit for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG remains uncertain, though, as he struggles with a rib fracture suffered trying to catch Usman Khawaja in Perth.
"I am nursing a hairline fracture to my rib but the doctor warned me it could become much worse if I landed the wrong way - a proper fracture, or even a punctured lung. No one needs that," Overton added.
"I've been brought up to fight through the pain, and I'm not the sort to leave the field for nothing.
"I won't rule myself out of Melbourne. I accept it's unlikely, but I'm so desperate to play that I won't accept I'm not going to until the doctors tell me absolutely otherwise."