Captain Ben Stokes has reiterated that England won’t retreat from their aggressive approach to Test cricket despite suffering a heavy defeat in the Ashes opener at Perth Stadium.

Since the appointment of coach Brendan McCullum in 2022, England has embraced an ultra-attacking methodology in the game’s longest format, which backfired during last week’s first Test against Australia. The tourists were rolled in less than 35 overs in both innings as Australia cruised towards an eight-wicket victory, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Speaking to reporters in Brisbane on Saturday morning, Stokes confessed that England lacked execution in the West Australian capital, but vowed the team would stay true to their beliefs in the Gabba Test, which commences on Thursday.

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“We did some amazing things throughout that Test match … but there were moments in that game where we could have been a lot better, we know that and we understand that,” he said.

“Could we have been better at executing what we wanted to do? Definitely, but we’ve got a mindset of playing the game, which is looking to put the opposition under pressure, but also trying to absorb that.

“Sometimes when you go out there and you make a decision, it doesn’t always pay off or work in the way that you want it to, and that’s what the key for the rest of this tour is, making sure that we stay true to our beliefs of how we play our cricket.”

Stokes also hit back at claims from former Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson that England’s players were guilty of “arrogance”, arguing the remarks stepped over the line. Ashes icon Ian Botham also came out swinging with some harsh criticism since the Perth loss.

“You can call us rubbish, call us whatever you want to be,” Stokes said.

“I think arrogant might be a little bit too far … sometimes you’re a bit like, ‘I’m not too sure about that one.’

“But that’s OK. We’ll take the rough with the smooth.”

Ben Stokes during an England nets session at Allan Border Field. Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

Despite being allocated an additional three days between Test courtesy of the series opener wrapping up within 31 hours, England’s first-choice players elected not to participate in this weekend’s Prime Minister’s XI match, a pink-ball contest in Canberra.

The tourists copped plenty of backlash for their decision not to reacquaint themselves with the pink Kookaburra before the Gabba Test, but Stokes pointed out the differing conditions meant the two-day contest at Manuka Oval wouldn’t have been very beneficial.

“I do understand (the criticism),” Stokes said.

“We’ve got a pink-ball Test match coming up in Brisbane and there’s an opportunity to play some pink-ball cricket. When you look at it just like that, you totally understand it.

“But there’s obviously a lot more to it than just that … the conditions are obviously going to be completely different to what we’ve got coming up.

“You try and take all the factors into consideration, the pros, the cons, whatever it may be, and then you always discuss that and decide what we think is going to be our best preparation.”

Instead of travelling to the Australian capital, England organised two additional training sessions in the Queensland capital with the pink ball, the first of which occurred at Allan Border Field on Saturday. Stokes compared the conditions in Brisbane to Sri Lanka.

“You step off the plane and you automatically get hit by that heat and the humidity,” he said.

“It’s a lot more sweatier, muggier, stickier. We feel like it’s going to probably be a lot harder physically than the conditions that we faced in Perth.”

England has not won an Ashes series since 2015, while the nation hasn’t tasted victory on Australian soil since 2011.

Despite flashes of brilliance during the Bazball era, some England fans have become frustrated with the team’s methodology and recklessness, which Stokes sympathised with.

“It’s a results-based job that we’re in. We love our fans,” he said.

“We know we’ve got an incredible fanbase who come out here and support us. They want to see us win. We want to win.

“We’re absolutely desperate. They’re absolutely desperate. In terms of that wavelength, we’re all on the same wavelength.

“We know that there’ll be a lot of disappointed fans in England after that first defeat. It’s a five-game series. We’ve got four games to go.

“We’re doing absolutely everything within our powers and using our time as best to allow us to go out there to try and achieve that goal.”

The second Ashes Test between Australia and England gets underway at the Gabba on Thursday at 3pm AEDT.