Stokes, Root hail 'brave' England response after tough build-up to MCG Test

England captain Ben Stokes and senior batter Joe Root have praised their side for showing "courage" and "bravery" in their drought-breaking victory over Australia, pointing to how the team responded to what was "thrown at them" in the difficult lead-up to the fourth Test.

"Obviously to lose the series is always very disappointing but I think it was really important that we showed a lot of character for the rest of the series," said Root to Fox Cricket.

"There's been a lot thrown at this team and the way that we responded throughout these two days has been excellent. Clearly it was a very fast forward Test match with the surface that we were presented with but I think we adapted to it as much as we could and exploited it when we had the opportunities. We showed a bit of bravery today in the way that we approached things with the bat and it's why we won the Test match.

"You never expect them to hand it to you. You know how good Australia are in their own conditions. But the fact that we managed to get across the line today is excellent and hopefully we can improve on this week and next week as well."

Stokes echoed those thoughts and spoke about how the team stayed focused despite the noise around them before the Test.

"After the couple of days building up to this match, there was quite a lot thrown our way," Stokes said at the post-match presentation. "To be able to come out here and put a performance in like we did there on the back of all of that kind of stuff… Just make sure that we stay focused on the task at hand, which is to come out here and try and beat a very good Australian team.

"And we've managed to do that. So a lot of credit has to go to the players, the staff and all the management to be able to make sure that the lads' focus was completely and utterly on cricket. Very, very proud captain here of the guys in the dressing room.

"It's obviously been a tough tour up until now and we're obviously over the moon that we managed to get on the right side of a result. So to be stood here now and be part of a team who's managed to win a game out of Australia over a long period of time is a pretty good feeling."

Stokes said England's approach in the chase was based on staying positive on a surface that heavily favoured the bowlers.

"Yeah, well, I think the way that the cricket was played, it was obviously short and sharp," Stokes said. "It was very, very, very tricky. And we looked to go out there and take the positive approach to everything. And yeah, it was heavily favoured towards the bowlers.

"I'm lucky enough that I'd be able to get to do both. So the way that we went about today was exactly the right way of trying to chase that down. You can't let good bowlers run up and just be able to land on the area that's dangerous constantly. And I thought the way that we combated that was brilliant. And yeah, chasing down 170 in the way that we did, I think was fantastic. It showed bravery. We were courageous in the way that we operated. And it was definitely the way to go about it."

Root played an anchoring role in the chase, scoring 15 off 38 balls and giving stability at one end while allowing the younger batters to take calculated risks. He was given out lbw with England still needing 17 runs.

"I was pretty confident by that point. It was disappointing to get out at that stage," Root said. "You want to be the guy to take responsibility and see your team home but that wasn't to be. To win the game, that's the most important thing and I'm really pleased and proud of all these lads. There were quite a few of them on their first tour so for them to experience a win here I think is really important.

"Like I said, we've got to make sure we improve on it and take the confidence from it into the next game."

One of those younger players was Jacob Bethell, who batted at No. 4 and played a key role in the chase with a fluent 40 off 46 balls, hitting five fours. His knock, full of intent and smart shot selection, reflected the bravery England spoke about throughout the day.

"Outstanding," Root said of Bethell. "The conviction that he played with, the smarts that he had, using the crease, making it difficult for the bowlers to hold length and just operate where they wanted to.

"It takes bravery, it takes courage and it takes a lot of skill to execute as well as he did. I think it was outstanding. It's why I think he's going to have such a bright future in international cricket."

Stokes was equally impressed by Bethell's contribution in tough conditions. "Beth, very, very crucial knock there for us in tricky conditions," he said. "And he showed the class that we see in him to be able to go like that. And yeah, unfortunately, he just managed to smoke one straight to cover. But no, I thought the partnerships they were able to build in the way that we did that in that run chase was exceptional."