The Ashes Recap: Australia claim 1-0 lead after remarkable turnaround in Perth

Josh Kempton
The Nightly
Mitchell Starc takes a spectacular catch off his own bowling to dismiss Crawley for a duck in the Ashes series.

Cricket: The first day of The Ashes at Optus Stadium somehow managed to live up to all the hype, with 19 wickets falling in a frantic opening to the series.

Australia looked well on top after bowling England out inside 33 overs for just 172 on the back of Mitchell Starc’s career-best seven-wicket haul.

But the visitors hit back in fine style, exploiting fast and bouncy conditions to reduce the home side to 9-123 in response as captain Ben Stokes led the way with five wickets of his own.

After a bundle of wickets fell on Day 1, what will the weekend bring?

Stay across the latest Ashes action as Australia and England resume their battle at Optus Stadium.

Josh Kempton

Hello!

And welcome to what promises to be an enthralling second day of the first Ashes Test at Optus Stadium.

Australia will resume at 9-123, still 49 runs in arrears of England’s first-innings total of 172 following a wild opening day which saw 19 wickets fall.

The first ball is scheduled to be bowled at 10.20am.

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