NEW DELHI: Being in Australia and 1-0 down in the Ashes series, the sudden death of England great Robin Smith has “hit harder” for Ben Stokes and the touring squad.

England’s test and second-string squads were in Perth last week, where Australia clinched the first Test in just two days by eight wickets. The Australian XI also recorded a win against the Lions during the same period.

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Smith, who represented England in 62 Tests, passed away in Perth on Monday at the age of 62. His death came just days after he met and spoke with the Lions squad.

“Just last week he was there chatting with the Lions who were out here,” Stokes said Wednesday on the eve of the second Test in Brisbane. “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 it was only a week ago.”

Stokes admitted he didn’t know Smith very well, but the touring party was filled with people who had strong connections to the former Test batter.

“The same thing kept on coming up pretty much, which was just that he was an absolute belter of a bloke,” he added.

Stokes concluded the press conference by affirming that England’s ambition in Brisbane remains unchanged: to reclaim the Ashes.

England changes

A knee injury to paceman Mark Wood forced England to make adjustments in their bowling attack. Selectors opted for all-rounder Will Jacks over specialist spinner Shoaib Bashir.

England’s all-pace attack dominated in Australia’s first innings in Perth but struggled to contain Travis Head during the second innings counter-attack. Stokes said Jacks, who featured in two Tests in Pakistan in 2022, will add variety to the attack and bolster the batting lineup.

“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,” Stokes explained. “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 claimed a five-wicket haul in Perth’s first innings, will join Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, and Brydon Carse in the pace lineup, while Jacks will contribute with off-spin.

There is speculation that Australia could recall Pat Cummins early from a back injury, but Stokes said England will take a “wait and see” approach.

“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. “We'll take some lessons from last week, 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.”

(With AP Inputs)