Being in Australia and already trailing 1-0 in the Ashes has added weight to an unexpected loss within the England camp.
The sudden death of former England batter Robin Smith in Perth has cast a shadow over Ben Stokes and his squad as they prepare for the second Test in Brisbane.
England’s Test and Lions squads had been in Perth last week, where Australia wrapped up the first match by eight wickets inside two days. The Lions, too, went down to an Australian XI.
Smith, who played 62 Tests for England, died in Perth on Monday at the age of 62, days after he met members of the touring party.
“Just last week he was there chatting with the Lions who were out here,” Stokes said on Wednesday on the eve of the Gabba Test. “He was at the game last week and talking to people and sharing, going into quite a lot of detail about his life and opening up quite a lot. It hits you a bit harder, I think, when you realize that it was only a week ago."
While Stokes didn’t know Smith closely, many in the England setup did. “The same thing kept on coming up pretty much, which was just that he was an absolute belter of a bloke," he said.
A knee injury to Mark Wood has forced England into a change, with Will Jacks preferred over off-spinner Shoaib Bashir. England’s pace-heavy approach delivered early rewards in Perth but fell away once Travis Head countered in the second innings.
Stokes believes Jacks brings options with both ball and bat.
“Coming here, knowing the first two games were going to be in Perth and the day-night game here at the Gabba, you try and leave yourself as much time as you can to think about different angles,” he said. “We tried to look at how we thought spin was going to be used. There was a bit of a tactical element to it. And obviously (Jacks) ability with the bat, to have that down the order for us is useful as well.”
Stokes, who took five wickets in the first innings in Perth, will lead an attack featuring Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse. Jacks will bowl off-spin.
Speculation around Pat Cummins’ early return from a back injury also surfaced on Wednesday. Stokes didn’t linger on it. “Whatever XI they go with, if Pat's there, if Pat's not, we'll still be going in there to try and get the win," he said.
For England, the focus remains on their own response. “We'll take some lessons from last week,” Stokes said. “But it's a chance for us this week to do what we want to do, which is to come here and win the Ashes.”