Key events
There are grey skies around Perth Stadium as we close in on the start of day two but play is expected to begin on time in 10 minutes or so. Nathan Lyon and Brendan Doggett will seek to carry Australia closer to England’s first innings total of 172, while the tourists lead by 49 runs and need one wicket to bat again.
Mitchell Starc didn’t quite play a lone hand for Australia, but the hosts were well short of the five star quicks that England rolled out on day one in Perth. Simon Burnton looks at how Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Brydon Carse and, of course, captain Ben Stokes hunted as a pack to turn the first Test on its head.
There is a strong argument that Ben Stokes should have made a different choice at the toss and immediately unleashed his barrage of fast bowlers at Australia’s openers, an out-of-sorts Usman Khawaja approaching his 39th birthday and a 31-year-old debutant in Jake Weatherald.
As it turned out, his decision did not delay that moment for long, the tourists bowled out for 172 inside 33 overs. This turn of events may have brought England’s supporters down to earth, but it inspired their players to reach for the stars.
The Ashes opened with Mitchell Starc putting Australia in a position of strength while sending another reminder that he is more than just a member of a fast and furious trio. Geoff Lemon was at Perth Stadium to witness the left-arm quick’s career-best seven for 58.
Starc did not pick up wickets in a kamikaze burst, but with consistent quality over a dozen overs split into two lengthy spells, the second of which was cut in half by the lunch break.
Without much swing, with decent carry but no obvious weapons for a bowler, he was consistently above 140kmh (87mph), constantly at his opponents with barely a loose delivery. It might well have been his highest-quality performance on a surface good for batting.
Martin Pegan
If you missed the remarkable day one of the first Test, or just want to relive what was the highest of drama, Ali Martin reported on all the action from Perth Stadium.
Not since Old Trafford in 1909, when 20 batters were sent packing, have more wickets fallen on the first day of an Ashes Test. There were 19 here, a fast-bowling festival, and those England supporters back home who woke up midway through could have been forgiven for feeling a bit played.
An initial collapse to 172 all out in 32.5 overs by the tourists must have been like discovering a horse’s head in the bed, reason to once again bemoan the excesses of so-called Bazball. But Ben Stokes (five for 23) and his fellow quicks then delivered a far more instructive message, reducing Australia to 123 for nine by stumps and inflicting a good few bruises to go with it.
Preamble
Geoff Lemon
Have we all got our breath back? That was an absolutely nonsense, absurd, bizarre opening day: 19 wickets in a Test day in Australia that only contained about 70 overs. Can nobody remember how to bat anymore? Was the pitch too difficult? The answer is no, not really, because some players do still bat for long periods of time elsewhere, and the surface had some pace and bounce but nothing inconsistent or unplayable. It’s just that nobody played it well, against some decent fast bowling.
So we’re almost 50% of the way through the match in scoreboard terms, in 20% of the allotted days and 16.4% of the allotted overs. Holy balance sheet, Robin.
Australia trail by 49 runs! After bowling out England for 172! The last pair will resume, but we’re not imagining that Lyon and Doggett will add a lot with the bat. Then, it will be Shootout No.2.
Don’t look away from the match today, there may not be much left of it by tomorrow.
