England Plot Route To Ashes Recovery As Mark Wood Admits They Were ‘hit Hard In Round One’

Mark Wood has considered driving consecutive from Perth to Brisbane – a 2,500 mile (4,000 km) travel complete 4 days – conscionable to capable nan other clip created by nan chastening commencement to England’s much-hyped Ashes moonshot.

The accelerated bowler was among a side near “shellshocked” by nan galling batting illness connected nan 2nd time astatine Perth Stadium that allowed Australia to powerfulness to a one-nil bid lead done Travis Head’s singular 69-ball century.

A tense flyer, and pinch nan two-day decorativeness having opened up an 11-day spread earlier nan day-night 2nd Test starts astatine nan Gabba connected 4 December, Wood went arsenic acold arsenic to look into really agelong it would return to make nan travel by roadworthy – only to realise nan standard of nan travel involved.

“If I could thrust crossed nan country, I would,” said nan 35-year-old, speaking to erstwhile teammate Stuart Broad connected nan For The Love Of Cricket podcast. “I did speak to a section who said if you spell crossed nan country, that’s a large danger. So you’d person to thrust astir nan coast. But I did look astatine it.”

England are yet to denote whether immoderate first-team players will divert to Canberra for nan two-day pink-ball lucifer against nan Prime Minister’s XI adjacent weekend. Wood, a precious plus only conscionable backmost from knee room successful March, will beryllium kept successful fabric wool but nan batters person been fixed nan action to play.

Both nan consequence and nan quality of nan two-day conclusion astatine Perth Stadium has near a bully number of nan 9,000 England supporters who made nan travel angered and triggered by a adjacent grade of ridicule successful nan Australian media. In nan contiguous aftermath, nan temper wrong nan England dressing room was conscionable arsenic bleak.

Joe Root and Mark Wood look dejected aft England illness connected time 2 of nan Ashes opener against Australia successful Perth. Photograph: Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/Reuters

“When you first get backmost in, it’s not that spot wherever you commencement evaluating,” Wood said. “Shellshocked is nan correct word. Some lads take to beryllium down, immoderate lads commencement packing their kit. I sat down for 5 minutes. It looks for illustration you’re gazing [into space] but you’re conscionable reasoning successful your head.

“When Ben Stokes gets backmost [from media duties], we beryllium successful a circle astatine nan extremity of nan dressing room. But there’s thing I tin opportunity that will make it sound better. If I opportunity we’re rather level, group aren’t going to beryllium happy pinch that.

“If I opportunity it’s really affectional past group will opportunity ‘why can’t you beryllium level and spell connected to nan adjacent game?’ What I tin opportunity is we speak honestly together. Everyone is open.

“And I consciousness we cognize this is 1 of 5 [Tests]. There has to beryllium a reflection of what has gone connected but besides to cognize that we did immoderate bully things and we return those into nan adjacent game. We person been deed difficult successful information 1 but we person much rounds to propulsion immoderate back.”

Given nan quality of nan batting – including a collapse of 4 for 11 aft luncheon connected time two erstwhile starring by 105 runs and appearing to beryllium successful complaint – those bully things almost exclusively mention to time 1 and a bowling capacity that saw Australia rolled for 132 each retired successful 45.2 overs.

The likes of Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green were each struck connected nan assemblage aliases caput – an early blast of power from what is England’s quickest onslaught since ball-tracking was introduced backmost successful 2006.

“I decidedly consciousness this squad has 20 wickets successful it – nan constitution of nan squad has been designed to return 20 wickets successful these conditions,” Wood said. “As a bowling group, we tin return a batch of assurance from that crippled and it being a day-night Test successful Brisbane, we cognize astir nighttime clip we tin zip it around. And if we zip astir astatine pace, that tin make it difficult.

“[But] Australia will person assurance from that triumph – arsenic a group that will springiness them a lift. Batters will beryllium much confident. It’s up to america arsenic a bowling group to conflict occurrence pinch occurrence and effort to sound them complete again.”