Ben Stokes Praises Head for Turning the Perth Test with a Devastating Innings

The first Ashes test in Perth ended in just two days, courtesy of some breathtaking batting by Travis Head in the Australian second innings. It was a brutal display of batting that ‘shellshocked’ the England captain, Ben Stokes. Travis Head smashed a stunning century off just 69 balls to help Australia win the first Test. He opened the batting for the home side in the second innings, giving a surprise hammering to the England team.

Travis Head opened the batting for Australia in the absence of Usman Khawaja. He came out all guns blazing, disrupting the bowling plans of England. Due to his superlative batting, Australia cruised to victory within just 29 overs.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, England captain Ben Stokes looked dejected. He said his team was taken by surprise due to the domination shown by Travis Head. They were confident to defend the total at the start of the innings, but the batting of Head changed everything.

"We're a little bit shellshocked there. That innings from Travis Head was pretty phenomenal. It's quite raw, quite fresh at the moment but, geez, that was some knock. It's knocked the wind out of us." said England skipper, Ben Stokes.

When asked whether he regretted the batting approach of England in the second innings of the Perth test, Ben Stokes said he had no issues with the way his batters played. He added that playing with bravery is key to performing on such pitches, however, shot selection also needs to be better.  

"If you look at the way the game eked out, the guys who seemed to have success out there with bat in hand were the guys who were really brave and took the game on. Anyone who tried to stay around there and try and occupy the crease didn't really seem to have too much success.” said Ben Stokes.

He further said that batters need to occupy the crease more when they get set in the middle. It is certainly hard for a new batter to find rhythm at the start, so the responsibility of a set batter becomes more while playing on tough pitches.

"On wickets like this, you never think you've got enough, so if you find yourself in a position where you're the guy who's managed to get in, try and give yourself the best chance of going on. There was a lot of assistance there when the bowlers put the ball in the right areas. The guys who were brave enough to knock the bowlers off their lengths seem to find success on that." said Ben Stokes.

 

Travis Head Left England Searching for Solutions

When Travis Head started his onslaught, England looked clueless against him. Ben Stokes admitted that his team tried different plans to slow him down, but none of them worked.

"We tried three or four different plans at him. When he was going like a train, those plans can change quite quickly, because those runs were coming down quickly. I've seen Travis play a lot of knocks like that, whether it be in Test cricket or white-ball cricket. He's very hard to stop." said Ben Stokes.

The England captain also found some positives for his team after the Perth test. He said the bowling of his team in the first innings was exceptional, as it vindicated their decision to go with a five-man pace attack. They would try to bring more intensity to it in the upcoming matches, as it could give them an edge over the Australian batting.

"The way in which we bowled yesterday was simply phenomenal. A lot happened on day one, 19 wickets fell, so it was a good day for the bowlers.” said Ben Stokes.

The loss in the Perth test is difficult to digest for the England team, because they were controlling the game after the first innings. Ben Stokes is still optimistic that his team can make a comeback in the series, as there are four more crucial games still left.

"This is a very tough one to get the series going when we felt we were in control of the game, and we were coming out there to bowl in that fourth innings. We've got four more games here. We'll obviously let this sink in. Obviously it hurts extremely, but we got to get our heads round and move on to Brisbane, and then hit the ground running there." concluded Ben Stokes.