Ben Stokes defends England’s ‘best preparation’ for Pink Ball Test at Gabba, saying ‘we’ve moved on’ from Perth’s crushing loss
After a whirlwind innings from Travis Head, whose once-in-a-generation knock dismantled England in the first Ashes 2025-26 Test at Perth, visiting skipper Ben Stokes said his team has moved on from that eight-wicket loss. England had taken a 49-run lead by the end of Day 1, and it seemed they would push Australia into a corner. However, the collapse of nine wickets before Tea saw the team set a paltry target of just 205, which the home side chased in 28.2 overs courtesy of Head’s 69-ball century. “We’ve talked about it and we’ve moved on. We had some good conversations around the group,” Stokes said in Brisbane ahead of the second day-night Test starting on Thursday. “Look, Travis played an amazing knock, there’s no hiding away from that. But that’s not the overriding contribution as to why we didn’t end up getting the result,” he said. Stokes also said there were “amazing things throughout that Test match.” “The way that we bowled in the first innings … and we ended up putting a score on …
