Ashes 1st Test: England win toss, opt to bat first; Weatherald, Doggett debut for Australia

Perth [Australia], November 21 (ANI): England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to bat first in the first Ashes Test against Australia at Perth's Optus Stadium on Friday.
This match kickstarts the Ashes mission for a 'Bazball '-charged English unit led by Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum. Having not won an Ashes series in Australia since 2010/11 and on a winless streak in their past three tours Down Under, this is the best chance for England to start with a win, as frontline Australian pacers, regular skipper Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood are missing the first Test due to injury.
England skipper Stokes said during the toss, "We are gonna have a bat. You try to take in as much information as you can. We will try to get some runs on the board and see where we go from there. It's been a long build-up; now we are finally here. It's a lot of hard work and determination. We have a clear plan for what we want to do in Australia. (Shoaib) Bashir misses out for us. So, we have four seamers, with me also chipping in. We have made sure we have covered everything. (On pacer Jofra Archer) He looks good. He has had injuries, but he has worked really hard, and he looks in good shape."
Australian skipper Steve Smith said the injuries open new opportunities for pacers Scott Boland, who had an impressive Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India in 2024/25, and debutant Brendan Doggett. Opener Jake Weatherald will be getting his Baggy Green on debut, while all-rounder Beau Webster misses out in favour of Cameron Green.
"I would have had a bat as well. Hopefully it seams all over the place this morning. I think the cracks will open as the match progresses. Those (Injuries to Cummins and Hazlewood) are big losses, but they open up new opportunities as well. Boland has been fantastic, and Doggett has been excellent in the Shield."
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
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. (ANI)