🏏The Ashes - England tour of Australia: First Test Match - Day1🏏

🏏The Ashes - England tour of Australia: 1st Test - Perth at 7:50 AM IST🏏

Australia's injuries fuel English optimism but task ahead is huge

The multi-purpose Perth Stadium staged a Metallica concert earlier this month and another heavy-metal tour begins there on Friday morning. No series can compete with the Ashes for anticipation, and months of speculation will finally come to an end when the first ball of the 2025-26 series is bowled in front of a sold-out crowd.

The first Test arrives with an unmistakable sense of English optimism, fuelled by the injury status of both teams' fast bowlers. For once, the absentees are Australian: Pat Cummins (back) and Josh Hazlewood (hamstring) are unavailable, while Jofra Archer and Mark Wood will play in the same team for only the second time in Tests.

It represents the best-case scenario for England, who have spent the last three-and-a-half years under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum's leadership building a team capable of competing in Australia. They are both aware that the next seven weeks will provide a lasting verdict on their tenures: McCullum has dubbed it "the biggest series of all of our lives".

Four years ago, England returned from Australia as a broken team, thrashed 4-0 on a tour made even more miserable by oppressive Covid restrictions. Since then, they have changed their approach to become Test cricket's most aggressive team, with a settled batting line-up and a regenerated bowling attack since the retirements of Stuart Broad and James Anderson.

But context is key: even being competitive on this tour would represent a marked improvement from England's last three away Ashes series. The scarcity of the draw in the modern era means that they will likely need to win three Tests out of five to regain the urn; they have not managed to win even once in their last 15 in Australia, losing 13.

In the spotlight: Mitchell Starc and Jofra Archer

In the absence of Cummins and Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc is the last man standing in Australia's long-established pace trio, a fact which he joked made him feel "old" after training on Wednesday. He is the undisputed leader of the attack, and England's approach against him will be instructive: Starc leaked 4.78 runs per over in the 2023, but was the leading wicket-taker on either side despite missing the first Test. If Australia bowl first, memories will immediately return to the first ball of the 2021-22 series, when he cleaned up Rory Burns at the Gabba to set the tone for a 4-0 win.

He may only have played two Tests in the last four years, but Jofra Archer's gradual comeback to international cricket after back and elbow injuries has culminated in him being available this week. It will be his first Ashes appearance since his maiden Test series six years ago, when he took 22 Australian wickets at 20.27 and hit Steven Smith on the head with a lightning-fast bouncer at Lord's. He is expected to open the bowling alongside Gus Atkinson, and Ben Stokes plans to use him in "short, sharp bursts" to break games open. Archer's return to red-ball cricket in the English summer was a reminder of his potency against left-handers, and Australia are expected to field five in their top eight.

Pitch and conditions

Curator Isaac McDonald predicts that his pitch will offer fast bowlers the "pace and bounce" that has long been associated with cricket in Western Australia, and that cracks could open up as the Test wears on. The weather has been relatively cool in Perth in the build-up and will continue throughout, with forecast highs of 28 degrees Celsius and the possibility of occasional showers over the weekend. Around 10,000 England fans are in Perth for the first Test, with more than 40,000 expected to attend across the series.

Stats and trivia

• Australia have won 13 and drawn two of their last 15 men's Ashes Tests on home soil. Their last defeat to England in Australia was in January 2011.
• Perth last hosted a men's Ashes Test in 2017/18, when Australia won by an innings and 41 runs at the WACA.
• Each of the five previous men's Tests staged at Perth Stadium has been won by the team batting first.
• Jofra Archer and Mark Wood have only played once together previously in Tests, against West Indies in Southampton (July 2020).
• Mitchell Starc needs 13 wickets in the series to overtake Wasim Akram as the most prolific left-arm fast bowler in Test history.
• Brendan Doggett will become the third indigenous man to play for Australia in men's Tests, after Jason Gillespie and team-mate Scott Boland.

Team News

Australia

It's been firming up to be Jake Weatherald's moment of glory for a few weeks now, and especially after he was picked in the squad for the first Test. And he will be the one partnering Usman Khawaja as the latest Test opener for Australia. Meanwhile, sharing the new ball should be the other 31-year-old on debut, Brendan Doggett, who gets his long-awaited chance to get his Baggy Green. That also means Marnus Labuschagne is back at his normal position of No 3 and Cameron Green returns to No 6 to play as the genuine all-rounder.

Playing XI: Usman Khawaja, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon, Brendan Doggett

England

While the main scrutiny within the English camp has been around Mark Wood's fitness, the only question that now remains is if they go with the spinner in Shoaib Bashir, to possibly use the deteriorating pitch late in the Test, which would force Stokes to bat first if he wins the toss, or if they stick with a five-man pace attack that will include Brydon Carse. Maybe it is purely a case of them wanting to see the look of the pitch once on the morning of the Test before taking that call.

Probable XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse/Shoaib Bashir, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer.

England have won the toss and have opted to bat

Steven Smith:I would have had a bat as well. Hopefully it seams all over the place this morning. I think the cracks are going to open up as the match progresses. Those (Injuries to Cummins and Hazlewood) are big losses but it opens up new opportunities as well. Boland has been fantastic and Doggett has been excellent in the Shield.

Ben Stokes: We’re going to have a bat. (Was it a tough decision?) You take in as much information as you can, especially at a venue that doesn’t host a lot of cricket. We’ll try to get some runs on the board and see where we are at the end of it. It’s been a long build-up, as it always is before an Ashes series. Now that we’re finally here, the whole group - players, support staff, and I’m sure all our fans out here feel exactly the same. We can’t wait to get going. As always, a lot of hard work, determination, everything that goes into preparing for a big tour. We’ve got a clear goal of what we want to achieve out here. From the 12 we named, Bash misses out. We’re going with four seamers, and of course I’ll roll my arm over now and again. It was just about waiting. Me and Baz like to take our time with selection, making sure all discussions are had and we’re going with the right feel. That’s the team we've decided on. Really excited (to see Wood and Archer together). Woody’s had a bit of time out with injury but he’s over that now; he’s worked incredibly hard for a long period. He’s absolutely raring to go, and so are Joff and the rest of the lads this week.

Teams:

Australia (Playing XI): Usman Khawaja, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith(c), Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey(w), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Brendan Doggett, Scott Boland

England (Playing XI): Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith(w), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood

Each of the five previous Tests at Perth Stadium have been won by the side batting first and the lowest winning margin being 146 runs.

The last time Australia have had two debutantes aged 30+ in a Test was way back in Wellington in March 1946.

So as expected given the stats at this venue, both sides wanted to bat first. The trend here has been that there's pace and bounce on offer for the seamers but as the match progresses, the Perth heat dries up the surface and the cracks eventually open up. However, having said all that, the temperatures are going to be quite pleasant throughout the course of this Test at Perth. So, the pitch might hold together in a better way.

The scene is set, the skies are blue, the crowd is flowing into their seats. And we are now just ten minutes away from the start of the 2025-26 Ashes. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Alastair Cook and Justin Langer carry the Ashes crystal trophy onto its plinth as Stokes and Smith lead their teams out for the anthems. All the pomp and ceremony is in place as Dr Richard Walley performs the Welcome to Country.