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England fast bowler Mark Wood has revealed he considered driving the 2,500 miles from Perth to Brisbane for the second Ashes Test.
Wood contemplated making the mammoth journey, which stretches across the entirety of Australia from west to east, after England suffered a humiliating eight-wicket defeat inside two days in the series opener in Perth.
The 35-year-old, a nervous flyer, told the For Love of Cricket podcast that he wanted to 'keep his mind going', with the crushing loss in the first Test extending the gap before the day-night contest in Brisbane to 12 days.
'It's going to hurt and it should hurt for a few days,' Wood told former team-mate Stuart Broad.
'Ultimately we have to stick together because there's the end goal, it's not just this one game.
'We're stuck here, it's not like we can just get up and leave for Brisbane. If I could drive across the country I probably would, just to keep my mind going.
Mark Wood has revealed he considered driving the 2,500 miles from Perth to Brisbane
The journey is more than 2,500 miles and stretches across the entirety of Australia
'I did speak to a local who said if you go across the country, that's a big danger. So you'd have to drive around the coast. But I did look at it.'
Past England captains and players had urged Ben Stokes' side to get some cricket under their belts before the day-nighter in Queensland's capital, which begins on December 4.
But England announced on Monday that none of the team who played in Perth would feature in a two-day pink-ball match against a Prime Minister's XI in Canberra at the weekend - a decision which is likely to be met with fierce criticism.
Stokes and Brendon McCullum were lambasted for their side's display in Perth. The tourists had resumed after lunch on day two with a lead of 99 but threw away the commanding position, losing 4-11 in a dreadful collapse before Travis Head's remarkable 69-ball century propelled Australia to an incredible win.
Wood opened up on the atmosphere inside the dressing room after the chastening defeat but backed the team to respond at The Gabba.
'When you first get back in, it's not that bit where you start evaluating,' he said.
'Shellshocked is the right word. Some lads choose to sit down, some lads start packing their kit. I sat down for five minutes. It looks like you're gazing [into space] but you're just thinking in your head.
'When Ben Stokes gets back [from media duties], we sit in a circle at the end of the dressing room. But there's nothing I can say that will make it sound better. If I say we're quite level, people aren't going to be happy with that.
'If I say it's really emotional then people will say: 'Why can't you be level and go on to the next game?' What I can say is we speak honestly together. Everyone is open.
'I feel we know this is one of five [Tests]. There has to be a reflection of what has gone on but also to know that we did some good things and we take those into the next game. We have been hit hard in round one but we have more rounds to throw some back.'
