England's hopes of an instant response in the second Ashes Test following their dismal series-opening defeat looks set to suffer a blow with fast-bowler Mark Wood a major doubt for theBrisbane clash.
After two manic days in Perth that ended with an eight-wicket battering by Australia, England have been forced into some tough introspection after a nightmare mauling.
Having ripped through Australia in the first innings – when the home side's batting line-up were blown away for 132 – England then proceeded to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
England's own fragile batting saw them collapse 65-1 to 164 all out in their second innings (after scoring 172 in the first) which still left Australia needing a match-high score of 205 to win the Test.
But a sensational Travis Head century guided Australia to what turned into a comfortable victory with England's all-pace attack smashed all around the Optus Stadium.
Despite showing some trademark fearsome speed in the first innings – that saw him fall just short of the 150kph mark and struck all-rounder Cameron Green in the helmet with a fierce bouncer – Wood finished wicketless, bowling 11 overs in the match.
And now the Durham pacer has missed England's first training session in Brisbane due to a problem with the same knee that saw miss the entire domestic season after undergoing surgery.
England have four more days of practice at the Gabba ahead of their day/night second Test.
Former Australia bowler Jason Gillespie believes the fragility of bowlers Wood and Jofra Archer should be an even bigger concern to the tourists than their batting failures.
“Everyone talks about England's batting and it being aggressive – that will be hit and miss, it is inconsistent. When it is good, it is really good, when it is bad, it's really bad,” Gillespie said on BBC World Service's Stumped podcast
“I would be more concerned about the robustness of the bowling attack – it was chalk and cheese from day one to day two and in particular Jofra Archer and Mark Wood.
“I know they had different bowling plans but it was interesting to see the pace was well down from the previous day and they hadn't bowled a lot of overs.
“That would be my concern. Do they have enough work in the bank to be fit and strong enough to bowl consistently high pace across the course of a whole match and then back it up in the subsequent matches? That is the big question mark for me.”
First Test gallery
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Travis Head's superb knock of 123 Helped Australia seal an eight-wicket win over England on Day 2 of the first Ashes Test in Perth on November 22, 2025. PA -
Australia captain Steve Smith, right, and Travis Head celebrate after winning the first Ashes Test. AP -
Australia batter Travis Head's123 came off just 83 balls, containing 16 fours and four sixes. Reuters -
Austrailia fast-bowler Mitchell Starc, right, was man of the match after finishing with figures of 10-133. Getty Images -
England batter Joe Root is clean bowled by Australia’s Mitchell Starc for eight. AFP -
Left to right: Australia bowlers, Nathan Lyon, Brendan Doggett, Scott Boland and Mitchell Starc celebrate after bowing out England for 164. AFP -
Frustrated England after Harry Brook after being out for a duck. Getty Images -
Australia bowler Scott Boland, centre, finished with figures of 4-33 in England's second innings. Getty Images -
Australia batters Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne walk off the pitch after their team's victory. AFP
England's two spare seamers – Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts – are currently in Canberra, tuning up in the Lions' match against a Prime Minister's XI.
That gives them some welcome time in the middle, should they be called upon and the pair are due to link up with the remainder of the Test squad on Monday.
Meanwhile, England captain Ben Stokes has hit back at criticism of his team which he believes has went too far.
The tourists have come under fire for their pre-series preparations, loose shot selection and the decision not send of the Perth starting XI to this weekend's pink ball warm-up match in Canberra.
Another former Aussie pace ace in Mitchell Starc has laid into his old rivals calling England “arrogant” and at risk of “serious embarrassment” Down Under.
“You can call us rubbish, call us whatever you want. We didn't have the Test match that we wanted to,” said Stokes in Brisbane.
“Arrogant might be a little bit too far, but that's OK. We'll take the rough with the smooth. I'd rather words like 'rubbish', but 'arrogant', I'm not so sure about that.”
Stokes also admitted he regretted hitting back at former England players who questioned their pre-series preparations by calling them “has-beens”.
“Everyone knows it was a slip of the tongue. I've explained that off the record,” said Stokes.
“I'm going to be one of those one day. It's a complete wrong wording and I think everyone does know that it's not at all what I meant by that.”
Stokes also admitted his captaincy skills need to improve on the pitch after the opening Test defeat.
“I know there were areas in that fourth innings where I could have been a lot better as captain,” he admitted.
“I am the person who makes decisions about how we go out there and operate and I am the one who gives the plans to the bowlers. On reflection of myself, I wasn't as clear as I normally am in those moments.
“The next time we're potentially in a situation like that I'll be in a better place to handle something that happens so quickly.
“We know that there'll be a lot of disappointed fans in England after that first defeat but it's a five-game series. We've got four games to go.”
