England slammed for sending assistant coaches to front media after 'nonsense' Ashes interview

Australian Test great Jason Gillespie has slammed England after the team once again sent an assistant coach out to speak to the media after a poor day three of the third Ashes Test at Adelaide Oval.

Spin coach Jateen Patel spoke after a day's play that saw Australia dominate with bat and ball, suggesting that people outside the English camp had built up this Ashes series to be more than it is.

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"I think the narrative of [the Ashes] being the series is everyone else's story," Patel said.

"But we're out here to try and win a series against Australia and take away the Ashes.

"We've got a lot of work [to do] to get there to do that. We had a lot of work to do from the start. It hasn't gone our way so far. We've got a huge mission in the next couple of days, but, I mean, this team has done some amazing things before."

The comment directly contradicted the thoughts of head coach Brendon McCullum.

"He's a proper ­cricketer," McCullum said in September while talking about Jofra Archer. 

"Hence why we've taken our time with him to make sure that we give him every chance to be in the biggest series of all of our lives."

Speaking on ABC Sport, Gillespie said it was a "nonsense" approach.

"Nonsense. Plain and simple. That was just nonsense," Gillespie said.

"It completely contradicts what the head coach has said, [the] biggest series of our lives, and then [Patel's] playing it down.

"It didn't make any sense to me."

The former Australian quick said it was a sign that tension was building in an English camp on the brink of losing the Ashes and going down 3-0 after three Tests.

"I'm just hearing excuse after excuse after excuse from this England side," Gillespie said.

"They're feeling the heat, there's no doubt about it. Sending out assistant coaches to speak to the media, no players, no head coach, no captain. All is not well in that camp."

English cricket pundit Jonathan Agnew said there had been a string of different staff members fronting the media and that England was running out of options.

"I'm looking forward to seeing who England put out tonight for the interview because so far we've had the bowling coach, David Saker, then we had the assistant coach, Marcus Trescothick, then we had the spin bowling coach last night, Jeetan Patel, the New Zealander," Agnew said.

"I'm not sure what remains in there. They're obviously reluctant to put a player out. I'm going for the bus driver, I think he's due. Let's get his thoughts on the Ashes."

Agnew said he felt sorry for the coaches who had to speak to the media in place of the coach and the players.

"I feel sorry [for them]. You've [Gillespie] been there as a coach trying to defend the indefensible and you hear them stand up and say quite silly things like, 'Will Jacks bowled quite tidily there'. Well, he went for six an over. It's impossible for the coach to get wheeled out there and defend stuff.

"The head coach is responsible, he's the man who calls the shots, he makes the decisions. But the assistants, they can't come out and say Bazball is a load of nonsense. 

"But the bus driver doesn't necessarily [have to toe the party line] so let's hear what he has to say."