England ended the opening day of the Perth Test with renewed Ashes hope after a ferocious fast-bowling display redeemed a disastrous batting collapse. Ben Gardner reflects on a chaotic day of extremes. How quickly things can change. At around 6am, when those who decided not to brave the first ball began to wake, the texts rolled in. ‘Ashes already done, awful start,’ read one. ‘Had a little hope, gone!” was another. A third, simply: ‘FFS’. And somehow, England end day one on top, leading by 49 with one wicket left to take. England’s post-sunrise excellence almost feels like an affront to those who had to sit through the darkness before the dawn, but it will also make the next all-nighter worth staying up for. At the time, the early decrees of doom were hard to dispute, because England fans have been here before so often, the hope proven false in a flash, and because this felt like their best chance squandered. After Scott Boland’s first over, it felt as if Mitchell Starc would need to do most of the work himself. Unfortunately for England, he did so. His 7-58 were career best figures to take him past 100 Ashes wickets. Among modern bowlers, only Bob Willis, Dennis Lillee, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne have more Ashes scalps at a lower average. Without Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, England were hoping to exploit an attack shorn of two of the Big Three. Instead, Starc stood tall as the Big One, seizing a day that will rank alongside World Cup wins in every format, right at the top of a career decorated with highlights. This was the game England had to win, and it’s still a game they could win. So unlikely did that feel halfway through, the analysis already felt there to be written. Here’s a sneak peek at what would usually be on the scrapheap: “What was the worst bit? To begin with, it was how simply Australia’s plans fell into place. Mitchell Starc tempted Zak Crawley to drive, and while he just about resisted attempting to recreate his first-ball boundary in the 2023 series, it only took six balls for the edge to be found. For Ben Duckett, it was full and straight that did the trick. “Ollie Pope and Harry Brook counterattacked through Plan A, but were quickly undone by Plan B. Cameron Green has Pope’s number, having dismissed him three times in 26 balls in Test cricket, his awkward release making even his bad balls dangerous. Pope was pinned lbw trying to work away a leg-stump yorker four balls into their battle. It took one fewer delivery for the short ball ploy to do for Brook, remembering Australia’s Big Boundaries too late to properly pull out of a full-blooded hook shot, and instead gloving behind. “Still, if it had all felt a bit too easy for Australia to that point, it was about to get easier. Brook was the sixth wicket to fall, in the 30th over. By the end of the 33rd, England were all out, the last three perishing attempting what Brook had tried to avoid, caught in the deep on the leg-side. England were questioned for warming up with this series with three ODIs in New Zealand, and the worries were only heightened by their struggles with the bat, whitewashed and failing to make it into the 41st over at any point. Their effort here was shorter than any of those three. It was also England’s shortest completed Test innings under Brendon McCullum’s stewardship. They had their worst batting day at the worst possible moment. “A run rate in the fives but all done in a session and a half. Dismissals that ranged from the avoidable to the lamentable. Conditions which were tough and required application, but not such a lottery that survival was impossible. This was the disaster Bazball’s critics say happens much more frequently than it actually does, but this series will also go a long way to deciding how Bazball is remembered.” ALSO READ: Bazball’s arrived, they forgot the brains Michael Vaughan laments ‘all too predictable’ England collapse in Ashes opener How much of that remains true? Perhaps plenty. And yet the flipside of England’s approach is that, even in their car crashes, they’re driving so quickly they end up getting some way towards their destination. At the equivalent stage inside 30 overs, both sides had lost five wickets but England had double the runs. England’s five seamers had combined to roughen and rattle Australia, and while Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne survived for a time as much by chance as by grit, they were hardly better off for it. England’s quicks were superb, justifying the decision to go without a spinner by each bringing something different. It took Jofra Archer two balls to show off his devastating ability against left-handers, Jake Weatherald’s first Test innings ending flat on his front. It will get easier at some point, but maybe not this series. With Usman Khawaja taking an ill-timed toilet break, Smith and Labuschagne were joined inside the first over, but were tied down by Archer and Gus Atkinson, the latter metronomic and unlucky. After Archer bowled Labuschagne off the elbow, it was Brydon Carse’s turn, Smith and Khawaja nicked off with two rip-snorters. Then the captain took centre-stage, claiming the day’s last five wickets, fielders always in just the right place, Australia outthought and outgunned. England’s management deserves plenty of credit here. The decision to pension off James Anderson remains unpopular, but with him around, game time for Atkinson and Carse would have been limited. The fitness of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood has been well managed, particularly the former, who, if not valued and handled delicately, could easily have been lost to the format altogether. Instead he looks every inch the worldbeater he was in 2019. And then there’s the captain himself, bowling as well as he ever has, looking as fit as he ever has, triceps bulging through his sleeves to claim a first Ashes five-for in a decade. England with the bat witnessed the good and bad of Bazball, while the bowling attack, surely England’s fastest ever, reaped the rewards of 18 months’ planning and brave calls. One day in, English hope remains. Their fans know too well that even that small victory is all too rare.
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