The first Ashes Test has finally arrived. After all the digs, press jibes, and pre-series chatter, Australia and England are set to get underway today at Optus Stadium in Perth.
Australia will hand debuts to Brendan Doggett and Jake Weatherald, while England have opted for an express-paced attack featuring both Mark Wood and Jofra Archer.
You can stream the 1st Ashes Test live for free on 7Plus, and watch from anywhere in the world by using NordVPN.
Watching The Ashes 1st Test Essentials
Start Time: 10:30 a.m. AWST (Sat.) / 2:30 a.m. GMT (Sat.) / 9:30 p.m. ET (Fri.)
The 1st Ashes Test is finally here, with England taking on Australia at Optus Stadium in Perth.
Ever since Stuart Broad took the final wicket of the 2023 series, it has felt like we’ve all been stuck in a holding pattern waiting for the next chapter of this rivalry to begin.
England may not have won a Test Down Under in nearly 15 years, but that won’t stop the Bazballers from posing a serious threat across five matches. Still, this experienced Australian side is formidable on home soil and will be ready to land plenty of punches of their own.
Strap in as we’ve got you covered throughout Day 1 of the Ashes.
What time does the 1st Ashes Test start?
The 1st Ashes Test begins at 10:20 a.m. local time which translates to 9:20 p.m. ET (20 Nov.) / 6:20 p.m. PT (20 Nov.) / 2:20 a.m. GMT / 1:20 p.m. AEDT.
Australian residents are in luck as 7Plus are streaming every day of each Test match for free.
All you need is an account with an Aussie postcode (e.g. 2026).
Remember. Use NordVPN to unlock Australia vs England!
One hour until the toss!
Just over an hour until one of Steve Smith and Ben Stokes decide to have a bat or bowl.
England won't want a similar first ball to last time when Rory Burns was knocked over by Mitchell Starc.
An incredible start to the 2021/22 Ashes series as Mitchell Starc bowled out Rory Burns with the very first ball 💥 pic.twitter.com/DRH4T1lN5LNovember 18, 2025
Welcome to Perth!
Live coverage has officially started for the Ashes 2025/26! Optus Stadium is now being broadcast live to the world as Perth prepares to kick things off.
With 60,000 fans waiting to get stuck into the action, we'll make sure to bring you every ball, every decision and every moment of drama. Stay tuned for an incredible first day between these two nations.
What is Bazball?
So, what is this Bazball that the pundits and players keep talking about?
It's an unofficial term coined for an aggressive style and positive mindset of cricket that England are perceived to have embraced recently to turn the tide on their diminishing returns as of late.
The name originates from Brendon McCullum - or Baz - the head coach of England's men cricket team since 2022. But will this style of play help England claim this Ashes series after a long drought?
The coin toss!
Ben Stokes and Steve Smith shake hands ahead of the match (Image credit: Getty Images)
The coin toss has happened...and it's tails!
Captain Ben Stokes has called it successfully and chooses to bat first for the English side. A lovely advantage to have choice over where you'll start but obviously completely down to luck.
Australian acting captain Steve Smith confesses he would've picked batting too but alas luck was not on his side.
Let's see how this plays out.
Where's Australian captain, Pat Cummins?
The Captains stand alongside the Ashes trophy (Image credit: Getty Images)
The eagle-eyed among you will recognise that Australian captain Pat Cummins wasn't present at the coin toss and won't be on the pitch today.
Cummins has had to pull out of the first stretch of the Ashes due to a back injury he acquired during practice. The Aussie side has been riddled with injuries this season with some questioning the strength of the usually powerful team.
However, in his place - and facing England captain Ben Stokes - is the vice captain Steve Smith with Cummins hoping to be back soon when he's regained full fitness.
What's the beef with Steve Smith and Monty Panesar?
Trying to fill the big shoes of captain Pat Cummins, Steve Smith may have thought that included receiving headline attention...well he achieved it.
During a press conference, Smith took a jab at ex England player Monty Panesar's disastrous performance on Mastermind in a poorly judged but fairly harmless joke. This blew back in the English media who were outraged and even resulted in Panesar responding to it and calling Smith a 'cheat'.
Let's hope there's more focus on the game and less on the tabloid headlines from here on.
The teams enter the stadium
Before the first ball is played, we welcome the two teams led by Smith and Stokes into Optus Stadium.
As is custom, and an important part of Australian history, the Welcome to Country ceremony occurs followed by the two national anthems.
The first ball is bowled!
Australia were forced to bowl first after losing the toss and they've bowled the opening ball!
Mitchell Starc bowled to England's Zak Crawley who solidly defended it and is doing a sterling job so far.
Starc claims a wicket!
Less than five minutes into bowling and Australia has claimed a wicket from Zak Crawley!
Will this streak continue?
A shaky start for England
After such an early wicket, things have regained a sense of calm.
England are finding their rhythm and have had time to recover after bowler Mitchell Starc takes a few minutes to change his shoe.
England's Ashes history in Australia
The England squad practicing (Image credit: Getty Images)
To put it in perspective, the last time that England managed to win the Ashes on Aussie soil Instagram had just been launched, the first iPad had just been released and Justin Bieber had been introduced to the world with his hit song 'Baby'.
It was 2010. 15 years ago.
England are hoping this year will see a return to this form but only time will tell if they can achieve this.
A second wicket is claimed!
Starc has done it again! A second wicket is claimed and the Aussies go wild.
Typically we'll see a lot more wickets claimed in the start as the ball is fresh. As play continues and gets rubbed more we'll see more spin and usually a little less wicket action.
Will this be the case today? We'll find out over the next few hours.
A close call for England
We nearly saw a third wicket claimed minutes after the second wicket!
Thankfully some quick thinking from Joe Root who managed to stretch his bat in the zone before the ball struck the stumps.
England need to channel this much talked about bazball mentality, that's for sure.
Wicket number three!
After that scare minutes earlier, Joe Root is now gone!
Starc works his magic again and - in less than an hour so far - has claimed a third wicket from England. Is England's strategy to bat first paying off? So far, it doesn't look like it...
A change in bowler, a change in pace
After some frantic pursuit of wickets led by inspired bowler Starc, Brendan Doggett has replaced him for Australia.
Three wickets in under an hour may be a high bar to match but Doggett is keeping England on their toes still. Hopefully a change of pace and bowler can give England a chance to reset and calm their nerves.
Current score: 71-3
Brendan Doggett takes over bowling duties (Image credit: Getty Images)
A promising start but a few stumbles from Doggett as he takes over bowling from Starc.
Another person who's performing under pressure is Ollie Pope, the 27-year-old from Chelsea. A steady hand among the early chaos from some of the other England players, but can we put our faith in this Pope for the rest of the game?
Excuse the pun.
Lyon bowls against the Lions
As the wickets get flatter, it's time to bring on a spin bowler. Enter Nathan Lyon.
Over an hour into play it makes sense to lean into this spin now and Lyon has a record of doing well for Australia when it comes to this.
So, who will prevail with the introduction of this new bowler: Lyon or the Lions?
Pope out, Stokes in!
Ollie Pope is out as the Captain takes over (Image credit: Getty Images)
Cameron Green takes it with the last ball of his first over!
A fourth wicket has been claimed and off Ollie Pope goes after a decent stint batting. After a tense review, the umpire stood by his decision and called another wicket for Australia.
Fear not, England captain Ben Stokes steps up to replace Pope and hopefully give England a morale boost too.
100 runs reached
102-4.
England reach 100 runs but with quite a few more wickets racked up than they were hoping for.
Opting to bat first - a different strategy compared to usually bowling first - this may have backfired on England. Only time will tell.
Break for lunch
Well, those at Optus Stadium have certainly got their money's worth so far!
Four wickets for Australia - three of which were claimed by Starc in less than an hour - and over 100 runs for England.
After a 40 minute lunch break the two sides will return to the stadium for the next chapter of the day's action.
We'll see you then.
Back from lunch
We hope you had a refreshing lunch break, now back to the action...
Six!
Harry Brook provides England with the start they so desperately need after their lunch break.
He smashes the second ball from Scott Boland over the boundary and secures the first six of the Ashes. Hopefully the first of many.
Starc takes out Stokes!
In an explosive claiming of another wicket, Starc performs another extraordinary move!
Five wickets in and the England captain gone, Australia are maintaining their winning streak. Halfway through now, will they manage to get the next five as quickly?
Australia playing strong despite losing the toss
Australia playing as a cohesive unit (Image credit: Getty Images)
There's no doubt that winning the coin toss is an advantage allowing the winning team to choose what they believe their advantage to be.
England may have let this go to their head.
Choosing to bat has not proved a winning strategy so far even with what was deemed a weaker Aussie side than they've played at the Ashes for a long time.
Despite these notable absences, including the captain Pat Cummins who is watching from the sidelines, Australia are playing some superb cricket. England have certainly put up a good fight but the Aussies are bowling and fielding miles better so far.
Brook scores 50, Boland goes down
In a much needed boost to morale, Harry Brook scores 50, the first half century of this Ashes.
A reliable player and safe pair of hands, he could be well on his way to score 100 at this pace.
In bad news for Australia, Scott Boland took a stumble and a chunk out of the grass as he chased and failed to stop a ball going over the boundary.
He's gone off the pitch for a moment to get checked out but Australia will be hoping he's back very soon.
A passive appeal leads to another wicket!
A seemingly hopeless appeal has just secured a sixth wicket for Australia!
The ball just clipping Harry Brook's glove before being caught led to an appeal which despite confusion among Aussie teammates if it would be worth the hassle saw the demise of the mighty Brook.
Getting rid of the most valuable England player sees them in a precarious position.
Minutes later, a seventh wicket!
(Image credit: Getty Images)
This writer can barely keep up with the frightening pace of Australia's game!
7-165.
Starc relishes in taking his fifth wicket today in what will see him become the MVP of this match surely.
A great catch sends Carse home!
An impressive smash off Carse's bat leads to an even more impressive catch from Australia.
8-168.
8 wickets down and you can sense England's panic really setting in. Will they be able to turn the tides for these last two wickets?
Another catch leads to another wicket!
Having not learnt their lesson from the last wicket, England fall into the same trap. A massive smash from Jamie Smith leads to another ball caught.
9-172.
It's all over for England's batting!
Starc has secured his seventh wicket and England's final one this innings!
Australia capitalised on the momentum from the home crowd at Optus and their own strength bowling.
Will they continue this streak as they take on batting? Will England turn things around after what you sense will be a stern talking to in the locker room?
Stay with us to find out.
Second innings, second chance for England?
The second innings are underway and Archer takes over the bowling for England.
Archer's second ball leads to a wicket!
Jofra Archer has installed some hope in the England side finally!
With Archer's second ball and no runs from Australia, England secures its first wicket of the Ashes.
Will England keep up this momentum?
The Barmy Army finds its voice again
Archer bowls a stunner (Image credit: Getty Images)
Never one to be quietened, the English fans - the Barmy Army - have found their voice after a superb opening few minutes.
Contesting the original call of 'not out', England challenged and after a review it went their way. Having the wind knocked out of their sails, Australia have not managed to score a run since.
1-0.
Aussie Captain seeking medical attention
Captain Steve Smith took a big smack to the elbow after a cracking bowl from the English side.
He's currently receiving medical attention but appears to be soldiering on. They can't afford to have an injured acting captain alongside the injured captain Pat Cummins.
1-5.
A slower and more cautious innings
England are hunting for wickets but after an early win they're proving harder to find.
After a halfhearted protest from the English side for another wicket at 1-8, the game has hit a steady rhythm which neither team seems able to break significantly either way.
Australia trail by 157 runs at tea break
After an initial flurry there has been a lack of action since England claimed their first wicket.
As we go into tea break, a reminder of the overall score which sees Australia trailing by 157 runs with 9 wickets remaining. Plenty of time to catch up and surpass England unless something changes.
England went 172 all out in what is officially the shortest first Ashes Test innings in Australia since 1902.
Ouch.
The third session coming up soon
We're nearly at the third session of the day but a reminder of some dates to put in the calendar coming up...
First Test: 21-25 November - Perth
Second Test: 4-8 December - Brisbane
Third Test: 16-20 December - Adelaide
Fourth Test: 25-29 December - Melbourne
Fifth Test: 3-7 January - Sydney
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Steve Smith struck again
Is Steve Smith wearing a magnet on his right arm? Not just one but two balls have struck him on his right arm now which will surely form the mother of all bruises tomorrow.
Thankfully he appears to be fine after an inspection from the physio.
1-15.
Two contested reviews
Smith (Image credit: Getty Images)
After debating whether to challenge a review on Smith, ultimately deemed not worthy by Stokes, they challenge Labuschagne after his bat looks (and sounded) clipped by the ball.
Not out is the verdict.
A contentious call and one that has polarised even the umpires after a lengthy review. Australia can breathe two sighs of relief.
1-19.
Second wicket (finally!)
After a lull in action, Archer has claimed another wicket!
Labuschagne is out after an explosive wicket is claimed by the star bowler Archer. Will this be the beginning of the end for Australia or a flukey shot?
Time will tell.
Archer vs Smith: the rematch
It's worth putting some context around the two men facing each other on the pitch at the moment.
Last time Archer and Smith faced each other ended as dramatically as it seems to be cranking up to today. Archer's famous 148 kilometre per-hour bouncers rattled Smith and led to some high octane drama for the fans.
Will history repeat itself? Either way, it promises to be a nail-bitter.
Aussie captain's gone!
Considered the pillar of Aussie cricket, Steve Smith usually a challenge to remove from batting has been dismissed by Carse!
3-30.
England have finally found some confidence. Will it last?
Carse on fire!
A fourth wicket, they're on a roll now!
England have managed to get out of their head and secure another wicket after Khawaja gloved it through to Jamie Smith.
Maybe we can see a fifth wicket in the next few minutes with Carse on extraordinary form...
Carse: England's MVP
(Image credit: Getty Images)
If Starc is Australia's MVP, there's an argument for Carse being England's MVP.
Securing wicket after wicket, he's been the most consistent player for the English side.
It's a bowler's game today, will that be the story of the rest of the test?
England defend on runs but slow on wickets
Australia is trailing by 122 runs and seem to be pretty sluggish stealing any in the near future.
They've done a good job defending wickets but when it comes to runs, not so much.
As the sun starts to set on Perth, what will the final result of day one be for the two nations?
Green sees stars
Cameron Green takes one on the chin!
Mark Wood bowls a blinder and it absolutely smacks Green on the grill causing him to stumble back and nearly take out the wicket, and the whole stumps too.
Thankfully he caught himself and it doesn't look too serious, onwards and upwards for England hopefully.
Stokes steps up
England captain Ben Stokes steps up to bowl a few for England and in the process maybe of boosting morale.
4-76.
He may need to perform a miracle to do so as play has slowed down, as it often does at this point in the game.
We shall see soon.
Stokes Head-strong
And finally a wicket for England captain Ben Stokes!
76-5.
Travis Head hits a slightly off shot which results in Stokes claiming his first wicket of the Ashes. This could be his first and last today at this rate though.
Stokes is on fire!
Stokes is unstoppable! Two wickets in 10 minutes, a much needed win for England.
83-6.
Australia are trailing by less than 100 runs, it looks lined up to a photo finish regarding who comes out on top.
Will it be the Aussies or Brits?
Australia hit 100!
In a beautiful four, Australia clinch a century.
6-100.
It may have taken longer than they thought but with four wickets left and trailing by 72, it's nothing to be sniffed at.
Lucky number seven!
England claim their seventh wicket!
English MVP bowler Stokes bowls out Australia MVP bowler Starc.
118-7.
As Australia trails by 53 runs, can England get its last three wickets first?
Stokes bowls four in a row!
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Someone call the firefighters because Stokes is smoking hot!
Four wickets in quick succession almost makes up for their disastrously slow start this morning and with the Aussies trailing by 45 may prove to be a winner.
He's Stoked to get five!
Unbelievable scenes!
You simply could not write this script, England looked like the underdogs and now they're the top dogs.
9-121.
Australia are showing signs of weakness and England are not slowing down.
Finishing on a high
Stokes triumphantly greets the crowd (Image credit: Getty Images)
9-123.
Let that sink in. As per usual - regardless of the sport - England snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Having trailed meekly for most of the game, the England side came into their own in the last few hours and Stokes absolutely delivered.
Australia were the more consistent team of the day but took their foot off the pedal and allowed England to pounce.
However, will England be able to claim their final wicket before Australia secure 49 runs? Who will prevail in Perth, conquer Canberra, and succeed in Sydney? You'll have to tune in to 7Plus to see!
Until next time, I've been Dan and thanks everyone for following.
Performance of the day — Mitchell Starc takes 7 wickets
Sensational Starc leads the way with first-day haul | Men's Ashes 2025-26 - YouTube
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What time does Day Two of The Ashes start?
Day 2 of The Ashes 1st Test is set to resume at 2:30 a.m. UK time on Saturday morning with Australia 123-9.
England will look to stabilize after any early wobble, leaning on their strong batting depth – including Ben Stokes, whose form could set the tone for the tour.
Australia, meanwhile, are firing up their spin option led by Nathan Lyon, hoping to exert pressure and take early control.
England cannot afford to drop any more chances if they are to come through with a victory.
Day Two pre-coverage starts in 20 minutes
For those in Australia simply tune in to 7Plus to get ready for what promises to be a rollercoaster of a day two!
After the cliffhanger of England securing nine wickets with Australia trailing by 49 runs, will they catch up? Find out soon...
Optus Stadium erupts with noise (Image credit: Getty Images)
Coming to you live from Optus Stadium, it's Day Two of the Ashes 1st Test!
In what promises to be a scorcher - in every sense of the word - follow every second of coverage here and on 7Plus if you're an Aussie local.
The visitors go on the attack, but will they finish the job they started?
A Starc difference
Starc on top bowling form (Image credit: Getty Images)
Mitchell Starc has been the name on every Aussie fan's lips. And every England fan's lips come to mention it, but maybe followed by an expletive.
Considered one of the elder statesman of the Australian side, at the rip old age of 35 years-old, he's surprised many with this insane form as he claimed seven wickets in quick succession on Day One.
Will he continue his streak once the Aussie team take up bowling again? Fair to say Starc has made a hell of a difference for the Aussies.
Stokes vs Starc
Stokes triumphant (Image credit: Getty Images)
If Starc was Australia's hero yesterday, Ben Stokes was the one every English fan was worshipping.
It really was a day of bowling excellence.
Stokes' five wicket streak proved to any naysayers why he's the celebrated captain of England.
Will this be another day focused on the bowlers or will both side's batting get their act together?
The first ball is bowled!
It’s 10:20 AWST in Perth and the first ball has been bowled!
England’s Mark Wood bowls to Australia’s Brendan Doggett and the action gets underway.
9-123.
Pope's unholy fumble
Coming off Doggett's bat, the ball flies towards Pope but he fumbles the catch.
This could have been a lovely 10th wicket to end this innings for England but back to the drawing board.
Doggett defends, Wood wobbles
Doggett defending (Image credit: Getty Images)
Doggett is doing some solid defending of that final wicket despite some powerful serves from Wood.
The English fast bowler has one of the more unusual techniques which sees him end up on the ground after most of his serves.
Pay attention to his knees and you'll see he's wearing double kneepads to cushion his constant falling. Perhaps the only bowler in the world to wear kneepads.
Will this unconventional style help England on their quest for that 10th wicket of this innings?
England claim their 10th wicket!
Australia finish this first innings on 132 runs as Carse claims the final wicket.
England have brought it back after a dismal start yesterday and now secure a 40 run lead.
We slip into an innings break now and you sense a slightly stern locker room pep talk taking place on the Aussie side. Probably a similar one on the English side to not take the lead for granted.
2nd innings commence
Man of the moment Starc bowls the first ball of the second innings against Crawley.
0-0.
What a dive from Starc!
Starc bowls to Crawley who bats it straight back to him...right into his hand!
After a tense review from the umpires to check if it touched the ground it's called out for Australia.
This will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the test with those cat-like reflexes from Starc.
1-0.
Watching abroad?
Starc undertakes a legendary catch (Image credit: Getty Images)
For those watching at some crazy hour outside Australia, a reminder you can catch all the action on 7Plus with a VPN.
Don't miss a second of the action including Starc's (already deemed) legendary catch.
Pope bats some miracles
Ollie Pope is doing the lord's work with some beautiful batting.
Landing a lovely four, him and Duckett are proving a dream team against the Aussie bowling so far.
1-21.
Lyon takes the lion's share of blame
A bit of a slip up from Lyon who missed a ball rolling his way while fielding.
He looks in a bit of pain, clutching his side, which has cost Australia a few runs.
Pope also secures another four, this batting team is nothing if not consistent.
The Duckett/Pope batting duo help England tally 50 runs. This is helped in no small part by some sloppy fielding from Australia.
A lot of overbowling when trying to get both of them out mid run at the wickets.
Can Australia disrupt this steady tempo?
Duckett takes a nasty ball to the arm
England batter Duckett receives some physio attention after taking a nasty ball to his arm.
He looks in a bit of pain and play is suspended for a few minutes.
Duckett is a survivor!
After a quick review, the initial call of out for Duckett is reversed.
Boland's ball was outside play and thus Duckett lives to fight another day after his injury too.
Lunch break
The umpire calls for lunch break as Australia fails to find the second wicket after an exceptional first wicket from Starc.
England are leading with 99 runs and have shown the strongest batting of the 1st test so far.
1-59.
Will Duckett's injury hinder him?
(Image credit: Getty Images)
It's been a few days of painful injuries. Primarily from batters at the hands of the bowler, albeit not intentionally.
Aussie acting captain Steve Smith took two whacks from bowling yesterday, and today Duckett took a nasty blow just before lunch break.
Will this impact the dream team of Pope/Duckett? We'll find out soon...
England leads by over 100 runs
Thanks to some solid batting and some less than some solid bowling, England have managed to secure a lead of over 100 runs.
While Australia frantically search for that second wicket the reliable Pope/Duckett duo doesn't show any signs of slowing down.
1-64.
Australia (finally) get their second wicket!
A sigh of relief from the Aussies after a drought as they finally secure a wicket.
Boland bowls out Duckett, the latter walking off the pitch before it's even confirmed by the umpire. He knows he had a good run but it has come to an end.
Will this give a bit of momentum to Australia or will the much talked about Joe Root prove an unstoppable combo with Pope?
2-67.
Boland strikes twice!
Within 5 minutes of his last wicket, Boland claims another!
Maybe Australia found some form after a lunch time pep talk and a few Vegemite sandwiches.
Wherever they found this form, you sense the crowd hoping this is the start of something rather than a flash in the pan.
3-76.
Three wickets in quick succession!
Boland is on fire now!
England have now lost three wickets for just eleven runs in a very short amount of time.
Will England captain Stokes replacing the fallen Brook restore some calm?
Starc claims another wicket!
This is a comeback!
Barely had I written about the last wicket and suddenly Australia claim another. I can't keep up.
5-76.
England nerves are settled
After five breathless wickets post-lunch, England have managed to find their tempo again.
Perhaps having the England captain on pitch has boosted morale but whatever the case you sense relief after that burst of Aussie energy.
Talk about going from zero to sixty, Australia found some tremendous form after a fairly lethargic game and have certainly spooked England.
5-83.
Boland, the bold bowler
(Image credit: Getty Images)
There's every reason for Scott Boland to be celebrating, he's played a blinder since coming back from lunch break.
While no one is forgetting Starc's magical first wicket dive, Boland has been arguably the MVP for the Aussie side this innings.
Again, after the Duckett/Pope duo was sent home, this may be a day where the bowlers shine.
5-87.
Starc claims his 10th wicket of the test!
Seven yesterday, three today - Starc is taking wickets from England like there's no tomorrow.
The left-handed bowler removes England captain Ben Stokes and takes Australia to its 6th wicket this inning.
6-88.
A lucky escape for Smith
Smith hit a lovely long ball...just over the heads of some fielders.
They reached for it vain but you'd have to be 7ft to successfully catch that one.
Regardless, Smith looks visibly relieved but lives to bat another day as England hit 100 runs.
6-100.
A seventh wicket claimed...eventually
An original call of not out for Smith...was flipped to out!
A tense and lengthy review was on the cards for a good five minutes with both sides unsure of where the umpires would ultimately land.
After successfully contesting the original call, the Australians continue on their quest to take England's wickets as quickly as possible.
7-104.
England score a six!
In some much needed good news, England manage to score a six with a blinder that goes way over the rope.
7-112.
The enthusiastic Barmy Army dress to impress...
(Image credit: Getty Images)
...not to be outdone by the Aussie fans
The Aussie fans, never shy (Image credit: Getty Images)
A low scoring game but high on drama
It may have been a low scorer when it comes to runs but one thing that has not been low is the tension.
Thanks to some incredible bowling, on pitch drama and rivalry between the two nations, it's been an action packed day two.
7-144.
Atkinson/Carse: the dream team is over
With a combined run total of 50, Atkinson and Carse had proved quite the partnership...
...but no sooner had they celebrated this achievement, Carse found himself at the receiving end of Doggett's lethal ball.
Archer replaces Carse.
8-155.
Archer enters...and exits within 5 minutes
Archer's seat on the bench was barely cold by the time he was forced to return to it.
Australia claimed their ninth wicket and Archer walks off the pitch with his tail between his legs.
9-164.
England out in time for tea break
That's it for England's batting team as Australia claims the final wicket of the innings.
Australia need 205 to win the test match...no biggie, right?
Join us after the tea break for more of the action.
Tea break is over
Similar to England's first stint at bowling yesterday, Archer throws the first ball.
0-0.
Australia must score over 200
The ball is literally and metaphorically in Australia's court.
To win this test they must do the so far unachieved target of gaining 200 runs in this innings.
For context, England were 172 all out in their first innings and that's the highest score so far.
It's not impossible by any means but it's a hell of an ask for this Aussie side.
0-3.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man...
Stokes before the fourth innings (Image credit: Getty Images)
Ben Stokes is the man everyone has their eye on.
Not to diminish the talents of Archer and the other accomplished bowlers, but if Stokes delivers another performance like yesterday's five wickets the Aussies will be in trouble.
Of course, there is the old cliche that England chokes under pressure in most sports...will this happen on day two?
Close but no cigar
Today's the day for countless - and always tense - DRS reviews.
After it looked like Archer had bowled Weatherald out...but after a discussion amongst the umpires it was concluded this was not the case.
Back to the drawing board, England.
0-16.
Head-strong for Six
Travis Head plays a lovely shot, behind him and over the head of the keeper. A beautiful six.
Not content with that he then scores a four. Nothing you can do about that.
Australia could go the distance at this rate, but will they?
0-62…A remarkable comeback?
Seemingly unthinkable but Australia might have a shot at scoring over 200 particularly considering England are yet to find a single wicket!
Will all good things come to those who wait? We may have to wait till tomorrow to find out at this rate
Finally a wicket for England!
75 runs in and England claim their first wicket.
This could be some much needed momentum…or just a fluke.
1-75.
Head hits a half century
The surprise isn’t that Head hit 50, it was more how quickly he did it.
The big question is will he get another 50 for a century?
1-83.
Could we witness a miracle now we’re over 100 runs?
Play has been fairly stagnant but there’s now a definite sense that this is Australia’s for the losing.
Over 100 runs and with only one wicket claimed they’re looking remarkably strong with Head leading them on the field.
1-101.
A Head scratching problem for England
Stokes strokes his chin. He looks out of ideas.
Head has proved a formidable thorn in England’s side and he isn’t going anywhere.
You can already feel the Aussies preparing to celebrate him reaching a century. Could he get the first one of this Ashes?
1-141
The crowd - and I suspect the TV audience - is just waiting for Head to get over 100.
Currently on 95, he can feel a victory for himself and the team on the horizon.
1-141
Head: man of the match (and the Ashes?)
Head achieves 100.
If today was a day for bowling excellence, Head had made a case for it being batters time to shine.
Achieving a century had done wonders for the team and made the impossible now seem like a certainty.
1-146.
Sloppy fielding from England
Australia are running circles around England in a real shocker.
Will they even need a day three at this rate?
1-158.
Australia need just 29
England look fatigued and frustrated. Out of ideas and out of options.
Maybe the tide will turn, stranger things have happened this last few days.
1-177.
13 runs to go…
13, unlucky for some particularly England at this moment.
That’s all the runs Australia need.
1-192.
England have a glimmer of hope!
A wicket, finally!
England breathe a small sigh of relief but it’s not going to do a lot in the grand scheme of things.
Head put in a remarkable performance for Australia and the crowd loves him, even begrudgingly the Barmy Army.
Smith replaces him, big shoes to fill.
2-192.
Australia score a 6!
Not much left to say, they’ve absolutely dominated and a 6 is icing on the cake.
One more run to seal the deal.
2-204.
Australia have done it!
Well done to the Aussie side, at the end of day two they have secured their first victory.
2-205.
It was a bloodbath in the end and the successful charge was led by Head.
He’s undoubtedly the MVP and has secured a mention in Ashes history.
Australia 1-0 England
Australia have won the first Ashes Test in Opus Stadium, Perth.
A comfortable victory by eight wickets and they go 1-0 up in the series.
Who knows how England will pick themselves up from this but they’d be the first to admit Australia ran circles around them.
Well, that’s it until they meet again in Brisbane on 4 December for Test #2.
What a few days. Thanks for following, I’ve been Dan and I’ll speak to you next time.
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