England taken apart as brutal Head gives Australia opening Ashes win

Perth’s first of five days for the Ashes Test.

England 172: (Brook 52, Starc 7-58) &amp, 164 (Boland 4-33)

Australia 132: (Stokes 5-23) &amp, 205-2 (Head 123, Labuschagne 51*)

Australia won the series by eight wickets and won it with a score of 1-0.

Travis Head’s blistering century in Perth saw England suffer a crushing defeat in the first Ashes Test.

Head, who had the second-fastest Ashes century of all time, annihilated the England attack in the first two-day Ashes Test since 1921, with just 69 balls to spare.

In just 28.2 overs, Head’s 123 provided Australia with a session of batting and they hit their target of 205. In the five-match series, the home side leads by eight wickets.

When England reached 65-1 just after lunch, Australia made a devastating and quick turnaround, going 40 for 40 and remaining 105 in the first inning.

Australia extended English pain in this nation, led by Mitchell Starc’s 10-wicket haul, helped by some awful visiting batting, and then masterfully promoted Head up the order. In 16 Tests since 2011, the record stands at 14 defeats and two draws.

In 11 overs, England lost 39 wickets. Ollie Pope, Harry Brook, and Joe Root were all accounted for by a horror spell that lasted for 3-0 in six balls, gutting the middle-order.

England were rolled over for 164 in 34.4 overs, despite Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse taking a half-century stand. For 99 runs, they took their final nine wickets.

Only Head could play one of the greatest Ashes innings in history to earn the match’s highest score in order to win.

England was shocked. Only 24 hours later, the pace bowlers that had been robbing blatantly over the Australian batters were rendered to a gill. The chaos at Perth Stadium was enjoyed by the divided crowd.

What direction will England take? In Australia, they have suffered some heart-wrenching defeats. One of the most agonizing experiences will be here.

England’s bowlers stunned Australia on day one, their batters had taken control early in the morning, and their injured Nathan Lyon and Usman Khawaja were both seriously hurt.

The pace with which England broke out was alarming, and the rest of the series was worrying. Without captain Pat Cummins who is injured, Australia have won the first Test at this venue by going bats second. They also did it from a disadvantage in the match.

The pitch and the clatter of wickets will be the subject of much discussion. This was the shortest Ashes Test that had ever been played since 1888, when 847 balls were bowled.

England was ‘Bazballed’ to fail, to be honest. When their batters regrouped after an early second-period strike, they allowed Australia to enter. Stokes’ squad wilted when Head gave England a taste of their own medicine.

One of the best tactical moves ashes will be the decision to move the head up the order.

Australia realized that the best course of action on the challenging Perth pitch was to attack, having to replace Khawaja, just as they did in the first innings. Left-handeder Head, who has previously opened, was given a chance to play his natural game when he was promoted from number five.

Even at this stage, the outcome could have a significant impact on the series. Jake Weatherald, the debutant, was brought along for the ride as Head climbed into the England bowling.

Head backed off and scythed the ball through the opponent’s side. It was outrageous in one of his four sixes, which was a slash over a third man off Carse. England failed to locate the stumps or Head’s body in any way because they lost their line.

Weatherald miscued Carse to end the opening stand of 75, but it did not stop Australia’s momentum. He overturned being given caught behind off Jofra Archer on seven.

Marnus Labuschagne slowed Head’s unstoppable progress toward him as he approached. For a further maximum, he clattered Archer baseball-style back over his head.

Adam Gilchrist’s 57 balls, the only quicker Ashes century, was made in this city 19 years ago at the Waca across the Swan River. Given the context, this innings could have fared better than it did in terms of quality and, with appropriate praise, Perth Stadium had won.

At the beginning of the afternoon, England was in control of this game. The tourists rebuilt after Zak Crawley was athletically caught and bowled by Starc for the second time in 11 deliveries, making it only the fourth England opener to return an Ashes pair.

Ben Duckett and Pope ran well, dispelling the Australian threat, and they added 65 in the match’s calmest moment. Pandemonium broke out when Duckett poked Scott Boland, who had just returned from a hiatus.

In three England drives that competed for the best shot, the Test swung toward Australia in six deliveries. Boland and Brook both fired awful wafts at the same bowler as Pope did when he ran for a wide one. Root played an uncharacteristic force that caused a drag-on in the following over, which Starc bowled.

England hasn’t really recovered. Since Shane Warne 20 years ago, when Captain Ben Stokes took a 10-wicket haul in an Ashes Test, Captain Ben Stokes edged to second slip, making Starc the first Australian bowler to do so.

Khawaja dropped Jamie Smith on the nought before leaving Brendan Doggett behind. The England wicketkeeper was undoubtedly awarded after a lengthy review, which was probably concluded in the right way.

The tourists were only aware of an attack strategy. In 34 balls, Atkinson and Carse each threw two sixes, adding 50. Australia was spooked, encircling the entire region with fielders.