A searing spell of pace bowling from Mitchell Starc put Australia in the box seat on the opening day of the Ashes at the Perth Stadium, only for Ben Stokes and England to storm back and reduce the hosts’ remodelled batting line-up to rubble. On a day when 19 wickets fell in just 71.5 overs, it was England who left the field happier after Stokes’s 5/23 reduced Australia to 123/9 in response to their first-innings total of 172.
Australia’s reply began in the worst possible fashion, with Jake Weatherald, the debutant, lasting just two balls before Jofra Archer thudded one into his pads. Though the umpire rejected the appeal, England were confident enough to have it overturned by the Decision Review System (DRS).
Weatherald had walked out with Marnus Labuschagne as his opening partner, with Usman Khawaja having spent time off the field during England’s innings and therefore unable to take his place at the top of the order. The innings was utterly becalmed, with England’s four-pronged pace attack asking plenty of questions on a lively, well-grassed pitch.
By the tenth over, Archer, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood and Brydon Carse had all had a bowl. With the scoreboard not moving and both batsmen being struck, another wicket seemed a matter of time. Archer delivered it, forcing Labuschagne to play on off his forearm.
Steve Smith, leading the side in Pat Cummins’s absence, survived 49 balls before a peach from Carse saw him edge to Brook in the slips, and Khawaja soon followed, unable to get his glove out of the way of a nasty lifter.
Travis Head (21) and Cameron Green (24) restored some normality with a 45-run stand, but when they fell within 12 balls of each other, Australia’s batting fragility was well and truly exposed. Stokes struck in his second over, with Head playing a nothing shot to Carse at mid-on. Green’s eyes lit up at a rare opportunity to drive, and the edge was safely taken by Jamie Smith.
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Alex Carey (26) and Starc (12) added 38 to restore some home spirits, but Stokes winkled out both in the shadow of stumps to ensure that his team ended the day well on top.
The series had got off to the most dramatic of starts with yet another first-over wicket for Starc. It wasn’t the first ball, like Rory Burns in 2021-22, but Zak Crawley edged the last ball of the over to Khawaja to give Australia the early momentum. Ben Duckett played a couple of gorgeous drives before Starc speared one into his pads, and Joe Root lasted just seven balls before chasing the angle and edging to the waiting cordon.
But Bazball-era England don’t bat meekly, and Brook and Ollie Pope added 55 at a run a ball to get the Barmy Army singing louder and louder. Pope interspersed the sublime with the streaky, while Brook was just imperious. Scott Boland was carted around with scant respect, and one inside-out loft over cover was simply breathtaking.
But Pope fell leg before to Green just before lunch, and Australia barely looked back. A scrambled-seam delivery from Starc that nipped back through the gate made a mess of Stokes’s stumps, and despite Jamie Smith and Brook adding 45 at nine an over, Starc and Brendan Doggett, Australia’s other debutant, wrapped up the last five wickets for 12 runs in just three overs.
Brook was caught off the glove down the leg side to give Doggett his first wicket, while Smith fell caught in the deep. At the time, Starc’s fiery bursts looked to be decisive. But England replied with their own flamethrowers to leave the Test fascinatingly poised heading into day two.
Brief scores: Australia 123/9 (Carey 26; Stokes 5/23) trail England 172 (Brook 52, Pope 46; Starc 7/58) by 49 runs.