Ben Stokes has urged his England side not to dwell on their crushing defeat inside two days in the first Ashes Test in Perth, insisting they must 'feel it and get rid of it' ahead of the second Test in Brisbane. The tourists were set Australia a target of 205 but were blown away by Travis Head's blistering 123 off 83 balls, a knock described by Australia captain Steve Smith as 'one of the great Ashes knocks'.
Stokes admitted he was 'shellshocked' by Head's onslaught, saying: 'It was so hard to be able to continue with plans we tried to implement, because he had an answer to everything.' The England captain stressed the need to process the disappointment quickly: 'You've got to let emotions like this sink in and it has got to hurt, but you've got to get rid of them as quickly as you possibly can while also learning from them.'
Head, who opened in place of the injured Usman Khawaja, revealed he had doubts about his Test ability after a four-month layoff. 'I was worried about: Am I capable of doing it still?' he said. 'Losing the toss wasn't ideal... It's worked out all right, because we finished on day two.' Head expressed a desire to continue opening, saying the role had been 'brewing for a bit' and that he was 'pretty bullish' about his ability to succeed.
England coach Brendon McCullum confirmed there would be no change to the team's aggressive approach. 'What we won't be changing is our blueprint,' he said. 'We believe in what we're doing, the style that has been set over the past couple of years.' Stokes echoed that sentiment, urging his side to leave 'any baggage from this result' behind in Brisbane.
