England players in 'absolute pieces' - Stokes

England's players were in "absolute pieces" in the dressing room after their agonising two-wicket defeat by Australia, says captain Ben Stokes.

England were strong favourites at one stage but Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon combined for a stunning ninth-wicket stand of 55 to take Australia home.

"We are absolutely devastated that we have lost," Stokes said.

"The lads are up there in absolute pieces, especially Robbo and Broady [bowlers Ollie Robinson and Stuart Broad] who put in an unbelievable shift there.

"But if that's not attracting people to the game we love then I don't know what will."

• England denied by Australia in Ashes classic

'I'm not going to change'

The series opener was England's first against Australia since adopting an attacking, positive approach under head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Stokes.

It is a style of play which has carried them to 11 wins from their previous 13 Tests.

They were the aggressive team throughout in Birmingham: they made a surprise declaration late on day one and scored at more than four and a half runs per over, but that led to them losing wickets at regular intervals in their second innings.

Stokes, however, said England would not change their approach in the remainder of the five-match series.

"I am not going to change the way I have gone about my cricket because it is the Ashes," Stokes, 32, said.

When England declared on day one, Joe Root was unbeaten on 118. The declaration gave them four overs at Australia late in the day but David Warner and Usman Khawaja survived unscathed.

"I thought that was a time to pounce," Stokes said.

"Who knows, we could have got an extra 40 runs or lost two wickets in two balls. I am not a captain who gets by on 'what ifs'.

"We were in control of most of the game and managed to produce a result. Obviously we wanted to be on top. We are devastated but that's sport. It is great and an emotional rollercoaster."