First Test, day one, Perth - England win toss and bat
Brook brings up fifty off 58 balls
Starc dismisses Crawley in first over before trapping Duckett lbw, removing Root for duck and bowling Stokes
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Out walks Jamie Smith, rather earlier than he would have liked.
While a few of England's bowlers can swing a bat, you'd say the tourists' hopes in this Test may already rest with this pair taking them to a passable first innings total.
Smith sends his first ball into the leg side, no run there.
Phil Tufnell
Former England spinner on BBC Two
Starc is without his mates, he's without his fast bowling partners but he's making up for it.
You feel that the tailenders won't be able to get too many on this Australian wicket, this partnership is really, really crucial.
Simon Mann
BBC Test Match Special commentator
Bowled him! It's another one for Mitchell Starc, he's been the man for Australia today, Stokes is out for six.
Stokes b Starc 6 (Eng 115-5)
Starc bowls Stokes for six to put Australia in 'excellent position'
Ben Stokes is beaten and his bails are flying!
It's that man Mitchell Starc again, nipping the ball in, feathering the inside edge of the England captain as he looked to drive.
Stokes ends up staggering slightly, dropping to a knee in the follow-through.
England in big trouble.
Phil Tufnell
Former England spinner on BBC Two
Mitchell Starc has done well considering he hasn't got his mates with him.
This could be a phase of England trying to wear him down here.
Two more for Brook from the next delivery, turning the ball into the leg side off his pads.
Now, here comes Mitchell Starc from the other end - he got a wicket in the first over of the opening session, will we see a repeat here?
Phil Tufnell
Former England spinner on BBC Two
Harry Brook has sixed him second ball after lunch, skips down the pitch and absolutely wafts it out the park.
'What a shot that is!' - Brook smacks Boland for six over mid-off
Quintessential Harry Brook.
He prods at Scott Boland's first delivery, which beats the bat with some good carry, but then lifts the following ball over the cover boundary for the first six of the series.
Phil Tufnell
Former England spinner on BBC Two
This partnership is absolutely crucial for England.
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Been out playing darts (and losing) tonight, thought I might last the first hour or so. Yet here I am, can of lager in hand, dreading work in 2 hours. Come on England.
Rich, South Wales
Have got my manager to agree to let me work from 4:30am this morning. Minimal work being done as I bite my nails through that first session.
George in London
Time to get back out there - Ben Stokes and Harry Brook are strolling to the middle in sunny Perth.
England resume on 105-4 with Brook on 28 and Stokes on four - their partnership is worth 11.
Ask Me Anything
Image source, Getty ImagesBBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything team has been answering your cricketing questions for this highly-anticipated Ashes series.
Our latest is on England’s preparations for the series…
Why did England only play one warm-up before Ashes?
England played just one friendly down prior to the start of the 2025-26 Ashes series in Australia.
That was a three-day game against the England Lions, which Brendon McCullum’s side won by five wickets.
England coach Brendon McCullum has previously approached away Test series in this manner.
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On a flight from Bangkok to Abu Dhabi at 4,000 feet, suffering from the turbulence created by England wickets falling.
Ali, somewhere over Asia
Was excited that a perk of night feeding my baby meant being able to watch the Ashes in the night. Her waking up just in time for the lunch break and us already being four down? Not ideal.
Alison and Rosie in Glossop
Expat living in Victoria BC, Canada. Lovely evening spent watching the first session. Except for the four wickets!
Adrian
Alex Hartley
Former England bowler on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
I was really impressed with Ollie Pope until he got out. All eyes are going to be on Brook and Stokes, England need a big partnership from them.
Mind you, at this time of night you might be genuinely hallucinating that you are Ben Stokes.
You'll start wandering back to the middle in ten minutes and find yourself in the middle of the street in your dressing gown, bike helmet on your head and umbrella tucked under your arm.
Image source, Getty ImagesAre you more of a Ben Stokes or a Pat Cummins? Maybe you're similar to Joe Root... or just like Steve Smith?
Before the action gets under way take our quiz and see which Ashes star you're most like.
Soham Sarkhel
CricViz analyst
Since the start of the Bazball era, England have won the toss and chased in 12 out of 14 Tests at home. Away from home though, they have opted to bat first in seven out of nine Tests. On the previous six occasions where they did so, they have won three and lost three.
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Up in the night following my first ever Ashes coverage whilst feeding my seven-week old baby as my Australian partner sleeps. Not sure which is worse - having to interpret these unknown terms or dealing with the mockery on his family WhatsApp group!
Anon
Alex Hartley
Former England bowler on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
That was absolutely Australia's session or even Mitchell Starc's session. There's been so much build up to this and Australia handled that brilliantly in that first session.
Four English wickets have fallen in the first session.
If you're just joining us, here's how Australia tore through the tourists' top order.
Khawaja takes catch at first slip to dismiss Crawley for a duck in first over
Starc dismisses Duckett lbw for 21 as another early England wicket falls
'Outstanding' Starc takes his third wicket as Root falls for a duck
Green dismisses Pope lbw for 46 as England review fails
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Crawley,caught Khawaja, bowled Starc Crawley, caught Khawaja, bowled Starc | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.00 |
Duckett,leg before wicket, bowled Starc Duckett, leg before wicket, bowled Starc | 21 | 20 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 36 | 105.00 |
Pope,leg before wicket, bowled Green Pope, leg before wicket, bowled Green | 46 | 58 | 37 | 4 | 0 | 97 | 79.31 |
Root,caught Labuschagne, bowled Starc Root, caught Labuschagne, bowled Starc | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0.00 |
Brook,caught Carey, bowled Doggett Brook, caught Carey, bowled Doggett | 52 | 61 | 36 | 5 | 1 | 106 | 85.25 |
Stokes,bowled Starc Stokes, bowled Starc | 6 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 50.00 |
batting,Smith,not out batting, Smith, not out | 28 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 27 | 164.71 |
Extras, no balls 2, wides 0, byes 0, leg byes 5, total 7 Extras, no balls 2, wides 0, byes 0, leg byes 5, total 7 | |||||||
Total,160 for 6 29.5 overs Total,160 for 6 29.5 overs |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Starc | 11.0 | 4 | 48 | 4 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4.36 |
Boland | 10.0 | 0 | 62 | 0 | 38 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6.20 |
Doggett, bowling | 5.5 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4.28 |
Lyon | 2.0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.00 |
Green | 1.0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10.00 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
0 for 1 (0.6 overs) | Crawley |
33 for 2 (6.4 overs) | Duckett |
39 for 3 (8.5 overs) | Root |
94 for 4 (19.6 overs) | Pope |
115 for 5 (24.5 overs) | Stokes |
160 for 6 (29.5 overs) | Brook |
