Australia bowled England out for 172 thanks to Mitchell Starc's career-best 7/58, but their batting collapsed in reply, ending Day 1 at 123/9 and trailing by 49. England's Harry Brook top-scored with 52, while captain Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse were the key architects in Austr
The opening combinations of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett (England) and Jake Weatherald and Marnus Labuschagne (Australia) failed to add runs as it was express pace dominating the proceedings at the Optus Stadium.
Jake Weatherald and Brendan Doggett are set to make their Australia debuts in the first Ashes Test at the Perth Stadium, with Beau Webster missing out on a spot in the playing XI, confirmed Steve Smith
Before the opening Perth Test starts a week from now, a massive topic of debate will be the number three spot: whether Labuschagne will get his reward for the domestic grind or whether the Aussies will look at Green, who has also started to bowl, as a long-term number three option. So far in
With the Ashes set to commence from November 21 at Perth, plenty of Australian stars have found rhythm and got game time heading into the all-important rivalry, a massive series in their chase for the ICC World Test Championship Mace.
Chappell shared his thoughts on Australia's cautious approach, "Being risk-averse is not being risk-free. By anchoring in the harbour of familiarity, Australia's selectors may have invited the very storm they sought to avoid. Perth demanded courage. The Ashes demand it. A ship is safe in har
"I'd like to see the selectors pick the sides, not the players. There's been a lot of players recently picking sides and saying who should be in the team. That's the selectors' job," he said.
Former Australian pacer Michael Kasprowicz said on Wednesday that the first Ashes Test is a chance for a struggling Marnus Labuschagne to solidify his spot as a number three batter after a recent red-hot run in domestic cricket.
Opener Sam Konstas misses out, whereas Marnus Labuschagne earns a recall, and Jake Weatherald is also included in the squad as Australia announces their squad for the first Test of the Ashes 2025-26 series against England starting from November 21.
Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne, following his brilliant run in the ongoing One Day Cup for Queensland, believes it's something that needed to happen for him to get where he is and felt axing from the Aussies squad helped him rediscover his form.