England quicks rock Aussies on turbulent opening day

Australia have come off second best in their first brush with England's high-octane pace battery, which turned the tables on their hosts on one of the more extraordinary opening days of an Ashes series.

While Mitchell Starc put the Aussie bowling attack on his back in the absence of his regular pace allies, Ben Stokes took a rapid-fire late five-wicket haul to cap an astonishing day-one bowling display from the visitors in Perth.

Stokes took the final five wickets of the day in just 30 balls after both sides' batters failed to come to terms with the bouncy Burswood drop-in wicket. In all, 19 wickets fell on the first day of the NRMA Insurance series as Australia slumped to 9-121 at stumps in reply to England's 172.

Starc, leading the attack in the absence of captain Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, maintained his late-career surge by updating his career-best figures for third time in his past 11 Tests.

The 35-year-old's 6-9 in his most recent long-form outing against West Indies in Jamaica in July was superseded by his 7-58 from 12.5 overs that was highlighted by him castling Stokes with stunning nip-backer.

But if the visiting skipper had any regrets over his decision to bat first on the lively surface, they must have evaporated as his all-seam attack saw Australia lose 3-3 – twice – but also roughed them up with a series of brutal body blows.

All four of the frontline bowlers Stokes cycled through topped 140kph, with Mark Wood and Jofra Archer both exceeding 150kph to back up hype over what is surely one of the fastest man-for-man pace attacks ever brought to these shores.

There was no let-off either from allrounder Stokes (who had 5-23 at the close), nor Brydon Carse (2-11) and Gus Atkinson, in a clinical display that has put the Australians on notice for the remainder of the series.

The home side's cause was not aided by a confusing bungle that prevented Usman Khawaja from opening the batting after the fast-scoring and fast-departing England were bowled out before tea with Harry Brook's half-century in his first Test outing Down Under taking his team to 172.

The reason for Khawaja's absence from the field for stretches of the England innings was only made clear just minutes before stumps, when an Australia team spokesperson revealed the 38-year-old had been suffering from back spasms after battling back stiffness throughout the day. The tourists' swift late capitulation – they lost 5-12 in three overs to end their innings – at one stage had stand-in captain Steve Smith gesturing to his dressing room to get Khawaja on the field.

The veteran opener did return to the field at the fall of England's eighth wicket, but had not spent enough time back out there before the visitors were all out. After months of planning on who would open the batting this Ashes series, it became an ad hoc partnership with Marnus Labuschagne sent out instead to begin Australia's reply alongside debutant Jake Weatherald.

Still not enough time had elapsed when Weatherald, who received his Baggy Green from another aggressive left-hander opener in David Warner before play, was pinned lbw for a second-ball duck by Archer.

It forced Smith to also walk to the crease in the first over of the innings, sparking the 51,531-strong crowd's loudest roar of the day. Barmy Army fans dominating the eastern portion of the sun-kissed venue launched into some old material ("we saw you cry on the telly") following the prolific batter's bizarre match-eve pot-shot at Monty Panesar.

England's bowlers maintained the barrage when Smith got to the crease. Smith twice copped blows to the point of his right elbow, and one to his right index finger, before edging Carse to second slip amid their first collapse.

Khawaja was finally permitted to bat when Labuschagne chopped on failing to get his bat out of the way of an Archer lifter. From the unfamiliar No.4 spot, he lasted only six balls as Carse fired through another snorting delivery that the leftie edged behind.

Travis Head and Cameron Green's rearguard fizzled out when the pair were dismissed in consecutive Stokes overs. His teammates could scarcely believe three more – Starc, Carey and Scott Boland – succumbed to him before the end of play.

With the venue nearing capacity for the series' opening exchange on Friday morning, most of them pointing their camera-phones at Starc running in from the Member's End, Zak Crawley (who punched Pat Cummins Ashes-opening 2023 delivery to Edgbaston's cover boundary) blocked back the first ball.

The anti-climax was quickly forgotten when Crawley's most adventurous waft to Starc's final ball of the over was nicked and pouched in ungainly fashion by Khawaja at first slip to give the veteran spearhead his 61st first-over wicket across all international formats.

Joe Root's search for an Australian century went on, the former captain also gone edging Starc to the cordon for a duck, not long after Ben Duckett (21 off 20) was lbw when the same bowler darted one back at his pads.

But Starc saved his best for England's talisman. Stokes, perhaps pushing too greedily in front of himself on a seaming track, was done by a scrambled seam missile that scythed through his booming drive and into his off-stump.

The carnage was punctuated by Brook's 55-run and 45-run partnerships with Ollie Pope (46 off 58) and Smith (33 off 22) respectively, both stands broken by against-the-run-of-play dismissals.

Green, bowling his first over in international cricket since undergoing back surgery a year ago, conceded 10 from his first five balls before Pope fell over a full, straight one to be lbw.

There was even more elation for Brendan Doggett (2-27 off seven overs) when Brook gloved one behind and started walking immediately after Australia reviewed the not-out call. It gave the game's other debutant his maiden Test wicket, a proud moment for the proud Worimi man who received his maiden cap from Australia's other two Indigenous male Test players, Boland and Jason Gillespie.

While Boland (0-62 off 10 overs) had an uncharacteristically off day after taking the new ball over Doggett, the latter's weaselling out of Brook prompted the rapid late procession in which four of the five final departures were to short balls.

Three were caught on the leg-side boundary to see Australia batting well before the day's second interval and Starc walking off holding aloft the 32.5-over old ball having taken the venue's best-ever Test figures.

2025-26 NRMA Insurance Men's Ashes

First Test: November 21-25, Perth Stadium, 1:20pm AEDT

Second Test: December 4-8, The Gabba, Brisbane (D/N), 3pm AEDT

Third Test: December 17-21: Adelaide Oval, 10:30am AEDT

Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10:30am AEDT

Fifth Test: January 4-8: SCG, Sydney, 10:30am AEDT

Australia squad (first Test only): Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster

England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Harry Brook (vc), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Mark Wood