England suffered a disastrous start to the Ashes series in Perth, collapsing to 172 all out in under 33 overs after choosing to bat first. Australian pace bowler Mitchell Starc ripped through the touring side with a career-best seven wickets, including his 100th Ashes dismissal.
The 35-year-old left-arm spearhead struck immediately, dismissing Zak Crawley for a duck with the sixth ball of the day. Starc continued his dominance throughout the session, removing Ben Duckett for 21, Joe Root for a seven-ball duck, captain Ben Stokes for six, and Gus Atkinson for one.
Starc's figures of seven for 58 marked his 17th career five-wicket haul and his fifth in Ashes cricket. Root's dismissal became a milestone moment as Starc's 100th Ashes victim, continuing the England star's struggles to score a century on Australian soil.
Brook's resistance proves brief
Harry Brook provided England's lone bright spot with a wildly attacking 52 runs, ticking off the first half-century of the series. The aggressive batter backed to leg and stepped down the pitch in what observers described as a remarkable show of bravado.
Ollie Pope contributed 46 runs before Cameron Green trapped him lbw with the final ball of his first over before lunch. England reached 160 for five before suffering a catastrophic collapse, losing their final five wickets for just 12 runs. Debutant Brendan Doggett stopped Brook with a bouncer that grazed his glove.
Bizarre batting order error compounds troubles
Australia's reply began in chaotic fashion when Usman Khawaja failed to open the batting due to a bizarre rule application. The opener was off the field for toilet breaks and stretching when England's last wicket fell, forcing him to remain off for an additional 10 minutes under cricket regulations.
Debutant Jake Weatherald opened instead alongside Marnus Labuschagne, Australia's preferred number three. Jofra Archer dismissed Weatherald lbw with his second ball, knocking the debutant off his feet without scoring. Steve Smith was forced to bat at number three rather than his usual position. Australia reached 15 for one at tea.
Tempers flare in Perth heat
Tensions erupted when Labuschagne confronted England bowler Brydon Carse after an unsuccessful review for a potential edge. The Australian batter stepped down the pitch for an aggressive approach, sharing strong words with Carse, who turned to respond.
Labuschagne had scored nine runs from 41 balls when Archer dismissed him, leaving Australia at 28 for two. Carse later claimed his first Ashes wicket, dismissing Smith for 17 runs from 48 balls.
Broadcast criticism overshadows play
TNT Sports faced a flood of complaints over its Ashes coverage, with frustrated viewers branding the broadcast «a poor product» and «a travesty». Lead commentators Alastair Eykyn and Rob Hatch called the action from UK studios, approximately 10,000 miles from Perth, while pundits including former England captain Sir Alastair Cook worked on-site.
Viewers expressed exasperation on social media when commentators greeted each other with «good morning», revealing their UK location. One widely shared post criticized the production: «Through no fault of anyone involved in the actual production, the TNT product is poor. No Aussie voice, crowd noise down, long delay behind the action and limited on-the-ground insight. Starc's been off the field with a potential injury for two overs and there's been no mention.»
Former Australia spinner Kerry O'Keeffe praised Starc on Fox Cricket, stating: «This guy is a bowler of the ages and we've taken him for granted for so long.» A Perth-record crowd of 43,591 witnessed the opening day.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
