England captain Alastair Cook admits his batsmen need to up their game after their poor display in Brisbane in the first Ashes Test, but he believes his side can bounce back.
Australia claimed a 381-run victory in the first Test at the Gabba, to claim their first Test victory in 10 attempts against England. Mitchell Johnson took the plaudits with his nine-wicket haul throughout the match, as England crumbled under pressure.
Cook’s side were bowled out for 136 and 179 and they were unable to deal with the pace and bounce on the Queensland pitch.
In last year’s series against India, England came back to win and he is confident his side can bounce back once more.
“This side has fought back in the past,” said Cook. “This game is going to hurt us but there is plenty of character in this team and we’re going to show it again.”
Johnson was overlooked by selectors in England’s 3-0 win earlier this year but Cook admitted that he played brilliantly well and deserved the credit.
He said: “He’s bowled very well and put us under some pressure. It is something we need to work on as a side going into Adelaide. We’ve faced a lot of him in the past and been successful. There have been times when he’s got on top of us, and we’ve had good times against him as well.
“You always talk about trying not to lose wickets in clusters but sometimes talking doesn’t really help. It’s about trying to do it out in the middle. Credit to Australia, they put us under pressure and we couldn’t respond to that.”
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