1st Test D1: England 172; Australia 123-9
Hosts close 49 behind after ball-dominated day in Perth
The opening day of this Ashes series has set an absurdly high bar for what is to come. England played their supporters back at home, a collapse to 172 all out like waking up to a horse’s head in the bed, only for Ben Stokes and his stable of quicks to deliver a more telling statement of their own.
If they did not know it before, Australia are now well aware that this is a very different England side to those of the past. The fast forward but fragile batting was a known quantity, granted. But it now comes with a pool of high-octane seamers who will test techniques and tickers in equal measure.
That test was failed first up, Mitchell Starc’s career-best seven for 58 – including Zak Crawley with the sixth ball of the match – followed by the hosts subsiding to 123 for nine by stumps. There were two strikes apiece for Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse, a sparkling five for 23 from Stokes, while the wicketless Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson ensured no let-up.
