Travis Head produced a century that will be remembered for generations. It was a knock that didn’t simply tilt an Ashes Test in Australia’s favour; it surely detonated it. Head’s blistering 69-ball hundred tore the heart out of England’s campaign and handed Australia a stunning eight-wicket win inside two days. In a series hyped as Bazball versus the baggy green, the Englishmen went from Bazball-brilliant to a struggling unit in less than 24 hours, and Head was the catalyst of their collapse. For England, they now face a monumental task to wrench back control of a series already teetering toward Australia’s grasp. England's head coach Brendon McCullum, reacting to the defeat, believed 200 was defendable.
"I thought 200 was a good score for us to try to defend. The way Travis Head played was absolutely outstanding. It's one of the best knocks I've ever seen in a pressure situation on a tough wicket. He knocked us off our lengths. We wanted to try to hold length as long as we possibly could, but he put us under so much pressure that we couldn't do it," McCullum told TNT Sports.
While McCullum admitted that the result will hurt, he also expressed confidence in his side to make a strong comeback.
"We've been trying to insulate against reacting too strongly. We know it'll hurt, not just us but all the people who follow this cricket team as well," he said.
"There will be a lot of chatter. For us it's about making sure 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've now got an extended amount of time off to get ready for Brisbane. We've done it before," he said.