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Ashes 2025-26: Australia vs England | 1st Test | November 21-25 | Perth | Match Discussion

Which team will win the first Ashes Test?

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@Rana are you watching? ARE YOU WATCHING!!!?????

This what you call an all-rounder! Benjamin Andrew Stokes
:salute

Not gonna educate you again about what is the definition of a true all-rounder so pay attention to this game!
 
BouncerGuy said:
if 2 teams are getting bowled out on day 1,,, that pitch is absolute joke.... No matter what
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Yea that’s a simplistic take, if you watched it, there’s nothing wrong with the pitch, good pace and bounce, that’s about it.

Maybe a slow outfield so value shots not great, but that’s nothing to do with the pitch
 
Australia’s first innings unraveled rapidly on a tough opening day in Perth, collapsing to 123/9 by stumps as England’s bowlers dominated with relentless discipline and movement.

After Archer removed Weatherald and Labuschagne early, Carse struck key blows by dismissing Smith and Khawaja, before Stokes ripped through the middle and lower order with a sensational five-wicket burst that sent Head, Green, Carey, Starc, and Boland back in quick succession.

With only Lyon and Doggett left standing and Australia still trailing by 49 runs, the hosts face a daunting task heading into Day 2, needing a miracle to stay competitive in the first Ashes Test.

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jamie smith fan said:
Lol it is a very good pitch.
Both batting lineups have been absolutely terrible i dont think jamie and brook felt any difficulties while batting too.
They just got out to nothing shots
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Oye yaar, I have been agreeing with you, lol. I also previously said in this thread that it seems like a pitch where with proper application there are runs to be made.
 
Independent Observer said:
Oye yaar, I have been agreeing with you, lol. I also previously said in this thread that it seems like a pitch where with proper application there are runs to be made.
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Yeah.
It is just there are no more proper test match grinders left there are just ftbs.
U need players like bavuma,amla,williamson etc on this surface who bat with high levels of patience
 
Let us run with the theory batsmen are crap lol Then why hype for these two teams that can't bat well on difficult pitches. Let us face it SA beat Australia even after getting bowled out for 135. Indiai beat Australia even after getting bowled out for 150 last year. Only excuse is Australia is missing 2 bowlers and cummins batting down the order.
 

Superb England tear into Australia in Ashes opener​


Captain Ben Stokes took five wickets as England's fast bowlers sensationally tore into Australia on an electrifying opening day of the Ashes.

In a captivating slugfest on a fast and bouncy pitchin Perth, England were bundled out for 172, only to reduce Australia to 123-9.

The ferocious action lived up to the hype of the most anticipated Ashes series in recent memory.

Surprisingly batting first on winning the toss, England 'Bazballed' their way into trouble. Zak Crawley was out for a duck from the sixth ball of the series to Mitchell Starc, who was irrepressible in taking 7-58.

Harry Brook swiped 52 and Ollie Pope batted nicely for 46, but England lost their last five wickets for 12 runs to be bowled out in 32.5 overs - the shortest first innings of an Ashes Test in this country for 123 years.

The tourists' five-man pace attack responded with the fastest display of bowling by an England team since such data was first collected 18 years ago.

Jofra Archer was magnificent and deserved more than two wickets. Any time there was a lull, England had a fresh paceman to turn to. Brydon Carse removed Australia captain and Monty Panesar's nemesis Steve Smith.

Stokes used himself as the fifth bowler, firstly snuffing out any suggestion of an Australia fightback then running through the long tail. Playing for the first time since suffering a shoulder injury in July, the skipper claimed his second five-wicket haul in as many Tests.

At the end of a breathless and unforgettable day, 19 wickets have fallen, England lead by 49 and have a golden opportunity to go 1-0 up.

After the expectation, speculation and trash talk, cricket's oldest rivalry once again delivered. This was an Ashes opening day for the ages.

England have not come close to winning an away Ashes for 14 years. At the end of Friday, Australia would have been left in no doubt they are in a contest this time around.

The spicy pitch played its part, as did the cacophonous atmosphere created by 51,531 inside the colossal Perth Stadium. But what will live long in the memory is the speed, hostility and quality of bowling from both teams.

Stokes looked to history with his decision at the toss - all of the five previous Tests at this ground have been won by the team batting first. For as bad England were with the bat, they were equally as good with the ball.

This match has echoes of the previous Test on this ground, when 17 wickets fell on day one. Twelve months ago, India were bowled out for 150, only to then burst through Australia for 104. India went on to win by 295 runs.

England's bowlers have dragged them into this match; now the batters must play their part on day two. Stokes' team are one strong batting innings away from a 1-0 lead.


For so long, England have lacked the pace to compete in this country. The culmination of a plan to bring heavy artillery down under resulted in this awesome and relentless assault on the Australia batting.

Mark Wood returned after 15 months out to play a Test alongside Archer for only the second time. Stokes is fully fit. Gus Atkinson and Carse could be the workhorses of the tour.

Archer set the tone in an opening three-over burst that averaged more than 90mph. The ball that pinned Weatherald lbw knocked the left-hander off his feet.

Marnus Labuschagne and Smith had to shuffle up the order because regular opener Usman Khawaja spent time off the field during England's innings. The second-wicket pair were tortured by England's hostility, taking blows, playing and missing.

Archer returned to have Labuschagne play on. Carse took over. Smith, booed to the crease by the travelling fans, edged to second slip, then Khawaja gloved a spiteful lifter.

Travis Head and Cameron Green threatened a counter-attack and Green should have been held in his follow-through by Atkinson.

But Stokes was irresistible in his first Test in Perth since making his maiden century at the Waca as a 22-year-old 12 years ago. Head and Mitchell Starc were caught on the leg side; Green and Scott Boland edged behind, Alex Carey guided to third man.

Ashes tours have seldom seen the best of Stokes. This was a statement of intent as he bids to join the few England captains who have left this country with the urn.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/articles/crmxmmxk3mwo
 
jnaveen1980 said:
Let us run with the theory batsmen are crap lol Then why hype for these two teams that can't bat well on difficult pitches. Let us face it SA beat Australia even after getting bowled out for 135. Indiai beat Australia even after getting bowled out for 150 last year. Only excuse is Australia is missing 2 bowlers and cummins batting down the order.
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Did you watch the match or just headshake your way through the cricinfo scorecard?
 
This is when test cricket is at its finest.Batters grinding,bowlers bowling with fire,50000 folks singing in the crowd and every ball being an event.Lol one of best I have witnessed this year.
Devadwal said:
Such a low quality cricket we have witnessed today :klopp :kp
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Last edited by a moderator:
Why do Indians have to burn when someone praises any team apart from theirs? Grow up seriously
 
jamie smith fan said:
This is when test cricket is at its finest.Batters grinding,bowlers bowling with fire,50000 folks singing in the crowd and every ball being an event.Lol one of best I have witnessed this year.
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Play match between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan, they will produce same results. 19 Wickets on day 1.

This is one of the lowest quality cricket I have seen .
:klopp :kp
 
Seems like aussies are nothing without their prime captain Pat Cummins. Very rarely you see aussies struggling like this on the first day of any test series.
 
I don't think the pitch was terrible. It had bite for bowlers and the pacers showed class while the batters hesitated to apply themselves with good method.
 
England's bowling attack looks complete for the Perth pitch ie 95 mph Wood 88-90 mph Archer, 85-87 mph Carse, 83-85 mph Atkinson, 83-85 mph Stokes.
 
This test will likely finish on day 3.

Rank turners also result in shortened games

However, I would prefer pacy and bouncy tracks (make for entertaining and exciting cricket) any time over slow subcontinental dustbowls
 
Low quality cricket from the batsmen barring Brook. Both teams looked like mental midgets while batting.

Also,

Rooooooooot :jimmy
 
Independent Observer said:
Doesn't help that there is a scarcity of proper batsman who are prepared to grind in this era.
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This is exactly the point.
We live in an era where the rate of run scoring is a premium and inevitably thee is a read through from T20 cricket on techniques (they play on such flat surfaces in most franchises as people want to see boundaries and fast scoring).

It means players who grind it out (like those of of old like Boycott, Edrich, Barrington) do not get a look in nowadays.
The game has evolved and on a really fast decks, or pitches that move about or take a lot of turn these players are caught out.
It's just the way things are now
 
adi_62941 said:
Seems like aussies are nothing without their prime captain Pat Cummins. Very rarely you see aussies struggling like this on the first day of any test series.
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They'll come roaring back and destroy the Englanders. There's only so much sloggin Brook can get away with.
 
The game is in England's hands. There's a good chance this pitch could settle down a bit in the third innings like it did in the India-Australia test last year. If that happens England can come out try to score 280-300 and the match is theirs for the taking.
 
People reading too much into day 1 of an ashes series. It won’t look pretty if it ends within 3 days but Aus deserve some humiliation for managing to play the whole batting lineup out of position in first innings.
 
gibsyhesperis said:
This is exactly the point.
We live in an era where the rate of run scoring is a premium and inevitably thee is a read through from T20 cricket on techniques (they play on such flat surfaces in most franchises as people want to see boundaries and fast scoring).

It means players who grind it out (like those of of old like Boycott, Edrich, Barrington) do not get a look in nowadays.
The game has evolved and on a really fast decks, or pitches that move about or take a lot of turn these players are caught out.
It's just the way things are now
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You can't grind it out against bowling/conditions that are tough to bat on for so long.

England averaged 141 kph as a unit and there was enough seam movement and carry.
 
Obaidd said:
People reading too much into day 1 of an ashes series. It won’t look pretty if it ends within 3 days but Aus deserve some humiliation for managing to play the whole batting lineup out of position in first innings.
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Old man Khawaja suffered a back injury apparently and was off the field for a long time which meant he couldn't open the innings for them.
 
Independent Observer said:
Old man Khawaja suffered a back injury apparently and was off the field for a long time which meant he couldn't open the innings for them.
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Yes that together with Green moving to six and Webster out meant five out of the top 6 were batting at changed positions from the last match Aus played.
 

Mitchell Starc – Press Conference (End of Day 1, Ashes Test 1)​


Q: How would you describe the day’s play?
Starc: “Fast-forward. Everything happened incredibly quickly today. It was one of those days where the game just kept moving at high speed.”


Q: Another wicket in the first over—26th time you've done it. Is that something you back yourself to do in big games?
Starc: “That’s always the plan, but it doesn’t always go that way. My role is to be aggressive and look for wickets, especially with the new ball. I’ve never worried about economy rates—my job is to make early inroads.”


Q: Did you feel extra responsibility with Pat and Josh not playing?
Starc: “Not really. Strangely, I felt very calm all week. Yes, we don’t have Josh and Pat, but there’s still plenty of experience in the attack—Scott’s been around, Brendan’s played a lot of domestic cricket, and Nathan has 140 Tests. I had full confidence in the group.”


Q: You said it felt like ‘fast-forward’ cricket. Why did the day unfold like that?
Starc: “People often blame the pitch or the batting, but I think both teams bowled really well. England’s aggressive approach always creates opportunities, and even when it felt helter-skelter, we still bowled them out for 170.”


Q: England came in boasting about relentless pace. How did you find their attack?
Starc: “Luckily, there weren’t too many at 150 when I was out there. They’ve clearly brought extra air speed with a five-man seam attack. But pace alone isn’t everything. It creates excitement, sure—but it’s not the whole story.”


Q: When did you find out Khawaja was struggling with his back?
Starc: “Not until the ninth wicket. Things happened pretty quickly. He’d spent time off the field with back spasms, so it caught us a bit off guard.”


Q: Is it difficult to stay calm when the game moves that quickly?
Starc: “It can be. But we’re a pretty calm group. Sometimes you lose clumps of wickets, sometimes you’re in the field for ages—you just stay level. There’s a long way to go in this game and the series.”


Q: What was the atmosphere like when innings changed, with uncertainty around Khawaja’s ability to bat?
Starc: “I was stuck outside with Fox at the time, so by the time I came in, Marnus and Jake were already walking out.”


Q: Your battle with Harry Brook—what’s that challenge like?
Starc: “He loves to counterattack, whether it’s walking at bowlers or clearing the infield. That’s his role when early wickets fall. We had decent plans today—those might evolve as the series goes on.”


Q: Thoughts on Brendan Doggett’s debut?
Starc: “Really happy for him. I toured with him back in 2018. He’s earned this chance—led a Shield attack, worked hard, and bowled a better first over in Test cricket than I did! Great start for him.”


Q: Your wobble-seam ball worked well today—how did you use it on this surface?
Starc: “The ball went out of shape early, so swing wasn’t really there. The wobble-seam was the one that worked, for us and them. I’ve learnt a lot from Josh and Pat—they’re two of the best in the world at it.”


Q: Short turnaround after a quick batting innings—how do you handle that?
Starc: “It’s part of Test cricket. Sometimes you’re out there for ages, sometimes you’re back on quickly. I’ve played long enough to condition the body for that. It’s just the nature of the game.”
 
England have to bat with discipline, their bazball approach will not work on Australia's big grounds, they will be holing out easy catches in the outfield and unnecessarily throwing away their wickets. India has shown the correct way to bat in Australia i.e. proper test match, disciplined batting Pujara style and wear the Australian bowlers down.
 
19 wickets on day 1. Totally dominated by bowlers.

One match like this in a long series is fine. Hope to see some balance between batsmen and bowlers in other matches.
 
Australian middle order threw it away, we will soon get to know how terrible the pitch was. If things doesn't change on day 2
 
Smith's display would be worrying if I were an Australian fan. BBC reporting his false shot percentage was 49% which is a record high for him by some distance.

He's always had that movement across his stumps but during his dry spell a while ago it became so exaggerated he couldn't properly judge his offstump, and it happened with his dismissal.

Australia's batting generally has been flaky for about 2.5 years, and the production line of quality domestic red-ball batters like in the 1990s and 2000s seems to have stopped.

SherWaqar said:
The ashes coverage in the UK is dull. They have rugby and cycling commentators.
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It's like out of a video game. TNT doing it on the cheap.
 
Markhor said:
Smith's display would be worrying if I were an Australian fan. BBC reporting his false shot percentage was 49% which is a record high for him by some distance.

He's always had that movement across his stumps but during his dry spell a while ago it became so exaggerated he couldn't properly judge his offstump, and it happened with his dismissal.

Australia's batting generally has been flaky for about 2.5 years, and the production line of quality domestic red-ball batters like in the 1990s and 2000s seems to have stopped.


It's like out of a video game. TNT doing it on the cheap.
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I have seen Smith get out like this a few times now. In the India series Bumrah got him out the exact same way. Before that Khurram Shahzad had a near identical dismissal too.
 
Some atrocious shot selection. Jamie smith - can argue the approach got him runs too.

But Alex Carey - trying to ramp on the off side with 3rd man there - in a test match.

bUT Vot a pOoR pITch (headshake, headshake)
 
TheSultan said:
Some atrocious shot selection. Jamie smith - can argue the approach got him runs too.

But Alex Carey - trying to ramp on the off side with 3rd man there - in a test match.

bUT Vot a pOoR pITch (headshake, headshake)
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I think it's a case of both. When playing on a challenging pitch like this one, batsmen don't think and start playing in a reactive way. Thinking in the position both teams were in when these two were batting (both came in at 5 down) my guess is they were thinking we have to score runs at all costs because the others tried to spend some time at the crease and paid the price for it with their wicket.
 
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