Stokes tips his hat to Travis Head for his mega innings having knocked the wind out of his England side’s sails.
‘Shellshocked’ Stokes hails Head for ‘knocking the wind’ out of England.
In the first Ashes Test at Perth, Australia overcame the pandemonium of the first three innings to win by eight wickets with three full days remaining. England’s captain, Ben Stokes, said that he and his team were “shellshocked” by Travis Head’s incredible 69-ball century.
When England went to the second-day lunch break on 65 for 1, with a lead of 99 and nine wickets in hand, they appeared to have the match under control. However, Head’s incredible performance of 123 from 83 balls had taken the momentum away from them, and Head departed the pitch to a standing ovation.
However, Australia won the match again thanks to a disastrous collapse of 4 for 11 in 19 balls, which was started by a brilliant spell from Scott Boland. Head’s promotion to the top order in the absence of the injured Usman Khawaja proved to be a blessing in disguise as he came out swinging and blasted Australia to their target in just 28.2 overs, despite England’s lower order rallying to set the hosts 205 for victory—the highest innings total of the game.
At the post-match presentations, Stokes was amazed by Australia’s game-winning goal. It was an example of England being thoroughly defeated at their own hard-hitting game.
“We’re a little bit shellshocked there,” Stokes told the host broadcaster. “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.”