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England head coach Brendon McCullum commented that his side will not back down from their "Bazball" approach after the Three Lions suffered an eight-wicket thrashing loss against Australia in the Ashes opener at Perth on Saturday.
The opening Test between Australia and England ended in just two days, making it the shortest Test in the Ashes since 1921. The visitors were in a good position at the start of Day 2, but ended on a losing note. At the start of Day 2, Australia were crawling at 9/123 after a masterclass of bowling by captain Ben Stokes, who picked a five-wicket haul during the third session on Day 1. The hosts were bundled out for 132 and the Three Lions took a 40-run lead, which put them in a position to clinch their first Test victory on Australian soil in 14 years. Batting second, England started on a solid note, which saw them take a 105-run lead with nine wickets in hand. However, their batting collapsed when they lost all their remaining wickets in the space of 18.2 overs, having only added 99 runs more to their total after a solid start. This left Australia to chase down a target of 205 runs. While chasing, Travis Head played one of the finest knocks in Ashes history, scoring 123 runs off just 83 deliveries, helping Australia to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series. After losing the first Test, head coach Brendon McCullum stated that the result will hurt, but he is confident that England won't be affected and will focus on the upcoming Brisbane Test. "We've been trying to insulate against reacting to things too much for a little while. We know that this one's going to hurt, and it's going to hurt not just us, but all the English people that follow this cricket team as well," McCullum said to TNT Sports as quoted by SEN Cricket. "There'll be a lot of chatter. For us, it's a matter of making sure that we don't allow our confidence and our camaraderie to dip too low. We know that at our best, we're a very good cricket team. We have now got an extended amount of time off over the next 10 to 12 days to make sure that when we get to Brisbane, we bounce back," England head coach added.McCullum commented that they will not back down from their bazball approach in the next four Test matches. "One of my big beliefs is you've got to build that unity, that cohesion, the connectivity and that camaraderie within a team for when you are under the biggest pressure, and the brightest lights, and things haven't worked out accordingly. To me, there is no other way other than to stay together, and keep backing one another, and keep heading towards the target. This is a marathon, not a sprint. We've had a very bad day today, but we've done it before. That's our blueprint. We're married to that, and we won't back down from that over the next four Tests," McCullum said. The second Test between Australia and England will be played at The Gabba in Brisbane, starting December 4. (ANI)
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