Perth [Australia], November 22 : England captain Ben Stokes admitted that he was a little "shellshocked" after watching Travis Head play one of the greatest innings in Ashes history in Australia's dominating eight-wicket win in the opening Test at Optus Stadium in Perth on Saturday.
Chasing a tricky target of 205 runs on a pitch which offered a lot to fast bowlers, Travis Head slammed a match-winning 123 runs off 83 deliveries that helped Australia chase down the target in just 28.2 overs.
Marnus Labuschagne remained on unbeaten 51 as hosts took a 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series.
Ben Stokes praised Head's extraordinary knock, which ended his side's hope.
"There's definitely a bit of shell shock. That innings from Travis Head was pretty phenomenal. As you say, it's all still pretty raw and fresh, but that was some knock. I guess when you look at how the game unfolded, the batters who had success were the ones who were brave and took the game on. It feels like we maybe went away from that a bit. On a wicket like that, you never feel you've got enough. If you're the one who gets in, you've got to give yourself the best chance to go big. I didn't see much success in trying to just hang around and occupy the crease. But yeah, that knock from Travis really took the wind out of us," Ben Stokes said during post-match presentation ceremony.
Stokes added that England tried three or four different plans to Head, but his aggressive approach changed the game quickly.
"Like I said, the guys who did well were the ones willing to take the bowlers on, put their best balls under pressure. There actually was a lot on the surface if you hit the right areas. The batters who were brave enough to take their options on were the ones who got the rewards. I think we tried three or four different plans (to Head). But when he's going like a train, plans can change quickly because the runs are coming so fast. I've seen Travis play a lot across red and white ball cricket, he's very hard to stop when he gets into that kind of rhythm. The way we bowled yesterday was phenomenal," Stokes added.
The England captain admitted that the Perth defeat has hurt but they are looking ahead.
"A lot happened on day one, and it was a really good day for the bowlers. It's tough to start a series like this, especially when we felt in control heading into the fourth innings. But we've got four more games. We'll let this sink in - it hurts - but we need to move on, get ready for Brisbane and hit the ground running. Yeah, we've got a decent break before that Test. We'll go away, do our work as we always do, and come to Brisbane looking to get what we want out of that game," England captain concluded.
Travis Head was promoted as the opener after Usman Khawaja didn't come out to bat due to a niggle. Head's counterattacking cricket helped him to reach a half-century in just 36 deliveries.
He also completed 4000 runs in Tests. The left-handed batter notched up his Tenth Test century in 69 balls after he punished every loose delivery.
Head's 69-ball century was also the second-fastest Ashes ton after Gilchrist's 57-ball ton in 2007 at Perth. He also completed 1000 against England in the longest format.
Talking about the game, England made 172 runs in the first innings after Harry Brook scored a fighting half-century. With the ball, Mitchell Starc took a seven-wicket haul.
In response, Australia were all-out for 132 after Alex Carey, Head, and Cameron Green played fighting knocks. For England, skipper Stokes picked up a five-wicket haul as the visitors took a 40-run lead.
Australia ripped through England's batting in the second innings, with Starc taking three wickets - completing his ten-fer and Boland finishing with a four-wicket haul as the visitors bundled out for 164 runs.
While chasing 205 runs, Head played a masterclass as the opening Test ended inside the first two days. This is also the first Ashes Test to end in two days in the last 100 years. This is also the shortest Ashes Test in terms of balls bowled since the start of the 20th century.
The second Test between two countries will be a day-night Test in Brisbane, starting December 4.