England captain Ben Stokes admitted that his team was ‘shell-shocked’ by Travis Head’s blazing innings in Perth as the visitors succumbed to an 8-wicket loss in a Test that had its share of ebbs and flows.
Stokes also praised Head for his game-breaking knock, which changed the course of the Test. “Little bit shell-shocked. Pretty phenomenal from Head. Pretty raw, pretty emotional, but that was some knock. If you find yourself in the position of getting in, you have to try and go on. Travis has knocked the wind out of us there.”
Stokes also explained how difficult it was to stop Head once he got set. “The guys who took it on and put their best bowlers under pressure found success on that [surface]. We tried three or four different plans for him, but when he’s going like a train, he’s very hard to stop. The way in which we bowled yesterday was phenomenal. A lot happened on day one, a good day for the bowlers,” he said.
Despite the defeat, Stokes noted that they will try to bounce back in the five-match series. “Tough one, as we felt we were in control. Let this sink in, but we’ve got four more games. A long time before Brisbane, we’ll go away and put in the graft,” he pointed out.
Head played a fearless knock of 123 runs off 83 balls. His innings included 16 boundaries and four sixes at the strike rate of 148.19. In the first innings, he scored 21 runs off 35 balls.
The second Test will start from December 4 in Brisbane.
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