Aussie pacer Mitchell Starc produced a fiery spell on Day 1 of the first Ashes Test picking 7 wickets as England were bundled for just 172. A disappointing collapse for England and 32.5 overs is all it took for Australia to wrap this English batting ruthlessly. The hosts entered the opener with massive setbacks. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood have been ruled out, leaving Australia without two of their frontline quicks. Like the previous home Ashes when he got Rory Burns in the first over, he set the tone with Crawley's wicket and followed it up with six more.
Root got a fine delivery which squared him up and he perished for a duck. Brook and Jamie Smith tried to counter-attack but the debutant Doggett broke that stand after the former had his 50. Australia turned to the short ball ploy with Brook looking good and England just caved in. Some pretty mindless batting too it must be said as Carse, Smith and Mark Wood threw their wickets away.Despite the injury blows, Australia walk in as the dominant force. Since the drawn 2023 Ashes, they have won 14 of their 18 Tests and remain unbeaten in six consecutive home series. The Aussies are also handed out two fresh debuts in Perth. Jake Weatherald is set to open alongside Usman Khawaja, while Brendan Doggett becomes the first Australian fast bowler in four years to earn a Test debut.
Playing XIs
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Brendan Doggett, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon.
England: Ben Stokes (c) Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Mark Wood.
