“Australia Rely on One-Man Show as England Deliver Team-Oriented Masterclass”
‘We have to crush them with speed’ – this was the mantra that England had been chanting for three years. What a brilliant implementation of that plan was seen in the twenty-two yards of Perth! What happened was, in a word, thrilling and thrilling.
It is difficult to remember the last time that the Australian batsmen were seen so shaky and helpless in the first Ashes Test.
England had collapsed while showing the aggression of the ‘buzzball’ philosophy with the bat. Their batting lineup was ruined by Mitchell Starc’s cannon. Starc took 7 wickets alone. But who knew, the real score of the drama was still to come! In response to Starc’s devastating spell, five of England’s fast bowlers came down with balls of fire. All of Australia’s resistance seemed to fly away in an instant in the relentless storm of speed.
Sometimes the ball hit the batsmen’s heads, sometimes it crushed their fingers or elbows. This clash of flesh and blood with a leather ball is nothing new on the Perth field. But the scenario is reversed this time. Usually, only England batsmen cower in fear on Perth’s bouncy wicket, looking for a place to hide. This time, Australian batsmen also looked for it.
Australia, having come out to bat in response to England’s 172 runs, were reeling at the end of the first day in Perth for 123 runs for the loss of 9 wickets. The average speed of the English bowlers with the new ball was about 150 kilometers per hour! They did not take their feet off the accelerator for a moment.
Jofra Archer, who has erased a five-year injury nightmare, returned like a king. He dismissed Australian debutant Jake Weatherald with a yorker that lifted the leg-stump with the second ball. Then he did the work of breaking Marnus Labuschagne’s resistance. Archer’s 2 wickets for 11 runs in 9 overs were joined by Brydon Curtis’ 2 wickets, including the valuable wicket of Steve Smith. And the last one was Ben Stokes’s catch. While others did the work of scuttling the Australian batsmen, Stokes took the opportunity to do his own thing. He got 5 wickets. It was as if the desperate Australian batsmen gifted him wickets.
The audience in the gallery had what they call a day of money. When the first day’s play ended, there were 19 wickets left on the scoreboard for both teams!
England’s batting was also strange. They scored runs at an ODI pace (5.23 per over), and also scored their fastest 150 runs on Australian soil, but no one had the patience or dedication to stay on the wicket. It was all over in just 32 overs. They had never been all out so quickly in the Stokes era.
Jack Crawley and Joe Root were ‘ducks’. At one stage, they collapsed like a house of cards, losing 5 wickets for just 12 runs. All out an hour before tea! In the past, any England team would have been mentally exhausted by this blow. But this team has such a bowling attack that it can turn the match around in any situation!
At least six former England captains were among the 51,000 spectators present at the Perth Stadium. Sitting in the gallery, they must have sighed—yes, if only there were five bowlers who could fire 150 kmph balls at Australia in their time!
Take Steve Smith. Eight years ago, he scored a double century in this very Perth after batting for 9 and a half hours. Back then, during the tea break, the twelfth player would be seen bringing plastic chairs for his comfort. And now? The twelfth player came with a first aid box! Smith had to undergo long treatment after injuring his elbow and hand. He played 49 balls before being caught at slip by Curs, and it didn’t look like he would be able to settle down.
Some may feel sorry for poor Weatherald. He received the ‘Baggy Green’ cap from David Warner in an emotional atmosphere in the morning, and only managed two balls when he went to the crease. Usman Khawaja was unable to open due to playing conditions, so he had to come out. But he had to return lbw to Archer’s yorker. Although Gus Atkinson didn’t take any wickets, he kept the pressure on with three consecutive maidens.
When Steve Smith came to the crease, there was a duet from the gallery. The English fans were booing him for his strange comments about Monty Panesar. Labuschagne and Smith tried to stay on the ground. But Archer’s second spell messed everything up. Labuschagne was bowled, and Smith returned in the next over. A bouncing ball from Curs touched Khawaja’s gloves and went into Smith’s hands. The 38-year-old Khawaja may not be as fast as he used to be, but that ball is enough to dismiss any batsman in the world!
It takes guts to survive such an attack. Travis Head and Cameron Green calmed down a bit after handling the burst of speed, it seemed that they would take over the game. But it was not to be, both of them sank after playing a slow shot. Mark Wood’s 152 kmph bouncer hit the grill of Green’s helmet, making his head buzz, and he sat down without cutting the sting. Starc and Alex Carey tried to resist, but were caught on the boundary line with bad shots. And Stokes completed his 5-wicket haul by dismissing Scott Boland for a duck.
Mitchell Starc may also feel bad. 7 wickets from 3 for 10 to 58 for 7 – one of the best opening spells of the Ashes, also completing a century of wickets. The ball was gripping the grass-covered wicket, his seam movement was more of a problem for the batsmen than his swing. England’s batsmen also played bad shots, putting themselves in danger. There is nothing to say except for Harry Brook’s fifty or Ollie Pope’s 46.
However, at the end of the day, one difference is very clear – Australia was a ‘one-man band’, with Starc alone fighting. And England? They played a perfect orchestra, where all the instruments played in unison.
Short score
Score:
England first innings: 172 in 32.5 overs (Pope 46, Brook 52; Starc 7/58, Doggett 2/27)
Australia first innings: 123/9 in 39 overs (Carey 26, Green 24, Head 21; Stokes 5/23, Archer 2/11)—End of first day.
