Ben Stokes: England have 'right mindset' to influence second Ashes Test

England captain Ben Stokes says his side are taking "lessons" from their two-day loss in Perth into the day-nighter second Ashes Test in Brisbane.

The pink ball Test starts in Queensland from Thursday at the Gabba as Stokes' outfit look to level the five-match series following their tough loss in Perth.

However, they are up against it with the pink ball a format in which their opposition thrive. England have lost five of their seven day-night Tests, including all three in Australia, while the home side have 13 victories from 14 in the format, with the only blot a defeat to West Indies in Brisbane in January 2024.

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Not only that, England have only won two Ashes Tests in Brisbane in their last 20 attempts, with their most recent outing at The Gabba a nine-wicket drubbing in 2021 at the start of a series they went on to lose 4-0.

While there is a lot at play that is seemingly working against England, Stokes says he knows that if his players go out with the correct mindset to "influence" the game, they can take a step closer to winning the Ashes.

"I think mindset is everything when it comes to sport in general," Stokes said.

"When you are put in all types of situations, as long as your mind is clear on what you are going out there to try to do, that is the most important thing.

"I have got complete trust in the players we have selected to go out there with the mentality that they can influence the game in the right way for us.

"Sometimes it doesn't always work out that way.

"We addressed last week, we assessed certain moments in that game, and we definitely take some lessons from last week.

"It is a chance for us this week to do what we want to do and that is win the Ashes."

England will only know the XI they are facing when it gets to the toss on Thursday, with Australia leaving it as late as possible to announce their side as their skipper Pat Cummins stays in contention to play as he continues his return from a back issue.

When asked if that decision from the opposition was mind games, Stokes boiled it down to Australia genuinely not knowing as of yet who their side will be.

"I see it as that they don't know what 11 they are going to pick until the toss," he said.

"We will just have to wait and see what 11 they go for.

"Pat (Cummins) is awesome, has been for a very, very long time.

"He has done great things, not only as a player, but he has been great since he has been given the responsibility of captain of Australia.

"Whatever 11 they go with, if Pat is there, if Pat is not, we will still be going to try and get the win this week."

Jacks is 'shaping into cricketer I knew he could be'

While Australia have not announced their side yet, England have, all-rounder Will Jacks replacing Mark Wood in the only change from the team that lost the series opener in Perth.

Wood had been expected to miss out after skipping England's first training session in Brisbane due to an issue with his left knee, but the selection of Jacks could be seen as a surprising move.

The off-spinner, who will bat at No 8 in the order, has played only two Test matches, both coming on the 2022 tour of Pakistan in which he claimed a five-for on debut.

For Stokes, since that debut, Jacks has gone from "strength to strength" and is confident he is in good form as he makes his claim in the side.

"Since coming into the squad in Pakistan and starting off very, very well, he has turned himself into a cricketer that I always thought he could be," Stokes said.

"He is incredibly talented and he has gone from strength to strength.

"He has been playing great out here in training, in the nets, so it is great for us that someone who is looking in pretty good order coming in for us in a big Test match.

"You try and leave yourself as much time as you can to come up with different angles for a 11.

"We tried to look at how we thought spin was going to be used so there is the tactical element to it then Jacks' ability with the bat down the order for us is useful as well."

Nasser: England 'covered both bases' with Jacks

For Sky Sports Cricket's Nasser Hussain the decision to go with Jacks as the spin option over front-line spinner Shoaib Bashir is the correct one given the conditions England will be facing in Brisbane.

"I think it is the right thing to do obviously with Mark Wood injured," said Hussain.

"Five seamers always seems a lot anyway but they had to in the last game at Perth because of the conditions.

"Here, without Wood, and the other seamers getting some overs under their belt, you can go with the spinner but then it is which spinner do you go.

"Do you go with the frontline spinner of Shoaib Bashir or someone like Will Jacks who bowls spin but also bats down the order.

"I think they have done the right thing. They have covered both bases. We don't know how much this pitch is going to spin and you may just need that spinner who bats.

"Jacks is a batter who bowls a bit of spin. He is a very good cricketer and I think England have gone the right way."

Pope: We are finding the right balance

Heading into this second Test, there was some noise around the fact that England opted against heading to Canberra to play a two-day match against a Prime Minister's XI as preparation despite their batting woes.

While No 3 Ollie Pope understands the outside noise, he insists that everyone in the England outfit has done the preparation that will get them in the best place to be facing the likes of Mitchell Starc under the lights.

"You can kind of look at it both ways and I can understand why there was a lot of noise around the two-dayer but at the same time, we are now trying to prepare for Mitchell Starc who is going to be trying to swing the ball on the bouncier pitches here," Pope told Sky Sports.

"I know there is this view from the outside that we train and then rock up for the game but everyone is very well in tune with what works for them on the pitch.

"We are as ready as we ever will be for this game and for the other games as well which is really important.

"I have learnt over my time what gets me in the right frame of mind and that is the balance of switching off from cricket but also being 100 per cent here when you are at the ground.

Ashes series in Australia 2025-26

All times UK and Ireland

• First Test (Perth - November 21-25): Australia beat England by eight wickets
• Second Test (day/night): Thursday December 4 - Monday December 8 (4am) - The Gabba, Brisbane
• Third Test: Wednesday December 17 - Sunday December 21 (11.30pm) - Adelaide Oval
• Fourth Test: Thursday December 25 - Monday December 29 (11.30pm) - Melbourne Cricket Ground
• Fifth Test: Sunday January 4 - Thursday January 8 (11.30pm) - Sydney Cricket Ground

(c) Sky Sports 2025: Ben Stokes: England have 'right mindset' to influence second Ashes Test