The Ashes

England's performance on the opening day of the first Test in Perth shows their preparation has been sufficient for the Ashes, says former assistant coach Paul Farbrace.

Ben Stokes' side played England Lions - their reserve side in effect - in a three-day warm-up on a slow pitch at Lilac Hill last week and former players including Lord Botham, Michael Vaughan and Graham Gooch have been critical of the preparation.

Stokes responded by calling them "has-beens" and said that "cricket has changed so much".

England were bowled out for 172 at Perth Stadium on Friday, but fought back brilliantly with the ball to reduce Australia to 123-9 at stumps, a deficit of 49.

"All the talk of England not being prepared for this series, they are absolutely prepared and the bowlers in particular have set a fantastic standard," Farbrace, who toured Australia as Trevor Bayliss' assistant in 2017-18, told BBC Radio 5 Live.

Farbrace praised England for the way they battled back after a disappointing batting innings and believes their "world class" bowling attack puts them in a strong position for the rest of the series.

"It is the best I've seen an England attack bowl in my time watching cricket," he said.

"The way they fought back, there would have been disappointment in the changing room but they know they've got such a high-quality group of fast bowlers.

"The trick now is keeping as many of them fit for the entire series and if they can do that then the series is there for the taking.

"Australia's top-order batting is poor, they look out of form and look like they are struggling. They are not quite sure what order to have their batters in and that is always a dangerous game if you're trying to fit players into your team."

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Image source, West Australian

The Australian media has been cutting in its analysis of day one of the first Test in Perth.

The West Australian, the paper that fired shots at Ben Stokes and Joe Root before the series, said the hosts' batters were in "total disarray".

The Sydney Morning Herald compared Australia's performance to England's during the 2013-14 whitewash when Mitchell Johnson ran through the tourists.

"Johnson terrorised an ageing England team, Australia's band of veterans is facing a similarly frightful ordeal against one of the fastest pace battalions the old enemy has sent to these shores," the paper said.

Code Sports and the famous Brisbane Courier Mail, meanwhile, said opener Usman Khawaja's career is "on the brink" after he fell for two.

Khawaja, 38, was also unable to open the batting because of the time he earlier spent off the field with a back spasm.

The Age said Khawaja's inability to open was a "sign of things to come in a dismal Australian batting display".

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Former prime minister Rishi Sunak says he is "fully drinking the Kool-Aid" that England will win the Ashes after day one of the first Test in Perth.

Nineteen wickets fell on an extraordinary opening day as Australia closed on 123-9 in response to England's 172 all out.

Sunak, a keen cricketer and fan, said he had been following from 05:30 GMT which was "not the greatest start to the day".

"Throughout the day it got progressively better," Sunak told the Matt Chorley show on BBC Radio 5 Live.

"What an up and down day.

"If we don't win this Test it is going to be a struggle for us. Our bowlers have been amazing. What an extraordinary day."

Ben Stokes' England are trying to win the Ashes in Australia for the first time since 2010-11 and the first time home or away since 2015.

"Going into this I felt the Aussies were still favourites but this is probably their weakest side since 2010 and our best," Sunak said.

"I am fully drinking the Kool-Aid that we will bring it home, especially for this Test because they are missing two of their incredible bowlers [Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood]."

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Usman Khawaja was off the field because of back spasms when he was prevented from fulfilling his role as opener, says Australia captain Pat Cummins.

The 38-year-old left-hander was off the field towards the end of England's innings on day one of the first Ashes Test in Perth, meaning he was not allowed to bat in his usual position until a set time had passed.

With Marnus Labuschagne promoted to open, debutant Jake Weatherald took the strike in Khawaja's place and was pinned lbw by Jofra Archer second ball.

"[Khawaja] had some back spams in the field so came off and had a bit of treatment," Cummins said.

"He got on the wrong side of the timings, a few quick ones at the end [England wickets] meant he couldn't bat."

Khawaja eventually came out to bat after the fall of the second wicket - Marnus Labuschagne playing onto his stumps for nine - but was caught behind for two off Brydon Carse.

Australia ended day one on 123-9, still 49 runs behind England.

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England's fast bowlers were told to run in and "smash the wicket hard" by captain Ben Stokes on an enthralling opening day of the first Ashes Test in Perth.

England's tail collapsed from 160-6 to 172 all out before their bowlers turned the tables - Australia closing on 123-9, 49 runs behind the tourists.

Carse and Jofra Archer took two wickets each before Ben Stokes picked up 5-23 in an hostile and sustained spell of fast bowling.

"Stokesy (captain Ben Stokes) kept it really simple and just told the bowlers to give everything," Carse said of how they approached the Australian innings.

"He said: 'Let's smash the wicket hard and see how much we can get out of the wicket.' "I thought the way Gus Atkinson and Jofra (Archer) started was phenomenal.

"Then I thought we carried that into the afternoon session and we were quite relentless through the evening and Ben rotated us well.

"We bounce off each other and we all have different attributes and complement each other well. It's a good start and we're never going to shy away from that relentlessness."

Srinivas Vijaykumar
CricViz Analyst

Image source, Getty Images

Brendan Doggett will become the 472nd player to debut for Australia in Tests when he features in the opening Ashes Test at Perth Stadium on Friday.

Doggett gets his opportunity after regularly being part of the Test set-up in recent times: first when India toured Australia last year, and as a reserve player in the squad for the World Test Championship final against South Africa in June.

The right-arm fast-medium bowler made his first-class debut in October 2017 and has since played 50 matches, taking 190 wickets at a healthy average of 26.5.

He made his first-class debut for Queensland, featuring in four Sheffield Shield seasons, before moving to South Australia at the start of the 2021-22 season.

Since moving to South Australia, his numbers have improved with 110 wickets at an average of 24.5 compared to his 56 wickets at 30.8 playing for Queensland.

Doggett's recent form for South Australia has played a big part in his inclusion in the Test set-up.

In Sheffield Shield matches since the start of the 2023-24 season, he has taken 78 wickets in 15 matches at 21.7 and with a strike-rate of 38.1.

Of the 18 bowlers with 50+ wickets in the Sheffield Shield in this timeline, only Scott Boland (37.5) has a better strike-rate than Doggett.

The majority of the England players in the touring Ashes squad haven't faced Doggett in any form of professional cricket.

Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue have previously faced him on one occasion each, the former in a Big Bash League (BBL) game in January 2025 and the latter in an England Lions v Australia A first-class match a month later.

In matches featuring Doggett with ball-tracking data in our database, albeit all from T20s in the (BBL), he has operated generally in the 84-86mph range.

In the BBL, he's got a good record bowling slightly short of a good length, averaging 20 at a strike-rate of 15 with deliveries in the 8-9m range.

On this Perth Stadium pitch with the extra pace and bounce, it'll be interesting to see Doggett's returns with the red ball.