Australia 123-9; England 172 all out
The opening day of the latest 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.
This fast bowling festival meant just 71.5 overs were sent down but anyone claiming to be short-changed – beyond those with day-three tickets – was howling into the void, frankly. Those inside Perth’s space age coliseum were witness to a warp-speed experience, with runs at a premium on a bouncy pitch that returned 19 wickets and a good few bruises along the way.
RM Block
A mastermind was not needed to work out that England were sub-par with the bat, Starc’s sublime showing not entirely excusing some of the dismissals. Harry Brook top-scored with a daring 52, Ollie Pope not far behind with 46. But a lower order collapse of five for 12 in 19 balls was pretty shallow, with the trap of the 85-metre square boundaries ignored.
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But what England did during an innings that lasted 32.5 overs, and saw Joe Root fall for a seven-ball duck, was keep scoring. Brendan Doggett held his own with two wickets on debut but Scott Boland was back in the last Ashes series: denied the chance to settle and taken for 62 runs in 10 overs. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood cannot return soon enough for the hosts.
That may sound absurd on one level, this the 15th time in 30 innings in Australia that England have failed to breach 200. Yet the old adage about not judging an innings until both teams have had a go rung true once more. Doggett aside, Starc was not matched at the other end, while England’s phalanx of seamers made it an ordeal from both.
Indeed, it was not until Australia were 69 for four from 27 overs, Archer and Carse on a tear, that Stokes felt it time to have a bowl himself. The all-rounder needed just six overs to claim his second Test five-wicket haul on these shores, wiping out Travis Head, 21, Cameron Green, 24, and Alex Carey, 26, in the process as Australia closed nine down, 49 runs in arrears. – Guardian
